Coronavirus UK: 12 new fatalities in preliminary daily death toll

England has recorded a further 12 deaths from coronavirus in hospitals, while Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have reported no further fatalities.

Britain’s death toll will be officially announced by the Department of Health this afternoon and may be different to the preliminary total calculated by adding up deaths reported by each home nation.

New cases will also be reported later today after almost 9,000 were diagnosed across Sunday, Monday and Tuesday – the highest numbers since mid-May.

It comes as the government prepares to tighten lockdown restrictions for the first time since March. From Monday people in England will not be allowed to meet in groups of more than six people. 

A 10pm curfew may also be imposed in England should the measures fail to halt the spread of coronavirus, reports suggest.

Boris Johnson told the House of Commons today that the draconian measures are essential to ‘keep our economy going and schools open’. 

NHS England reported the 12 further deaths, the most of which (seven) were recorded in the North West. 

These only cover deaths in hospitals, and so the total given by the Department of Health this afternoon for the UK overall may be higher as it includes care homes and other settings, too. It may also be lower as it counts deaths with a different cut-off point to NHS England.

The Scottish government, while revealing no new deaths, has also announced 159 new cases of coronavirus. Wales reported 165 more cases, and Northern Ireland 49. 

These will be added to the total caseload for the UK reported by the Department of Health later today, which will also include England’s new cases.  

Amid a rising number of cases the government announced new social restrictions to come into force on Monday, and warned it would not fail to take further action if needed.

The Health Secretary said this morning: ‘We need to act now to stop the virus spreading. So we are simplifying and strengthening the rules on social contact – making them easier to understand and for the police to enforce.

‘It is absolutely critical that people now abide by these rules and remember the basics – washing your hands, covering your face, keeping space from others, and getting a test if you have symptoms.’

The new England-wide measure were sparked after cases topped 2,000 for three days running – taking the UK well above the threshold where it considers placing travel restrictions on other countries. 

The ‘rule of six’ is not coming into force until Monday to give people time to read the rule and become aware of it, Matt Hancock said.

Once enforced, those that fail to follow the rule could face fines ranging from £100 to £3,200, although there will be exceptions for events such as weddings, funerals and Christenings. 

‘We have got to bring in clear, stricter rules this autumn unfortunately to stop the spread of the virus,’ Hancock said.

‘One of the things we heard back including from the police directly was that we needed a simpler set of rules that are very straightforward, (that) everybody can understand, and we will be publishing those rules very clearly and then enforcing against them.’

The measures will be in place for the ‘foreseeable future’, sparking fears they could disrupt Christmas.

The Health Secretary sought to pour cold water on the concerns this morning, stating that three months is a ‘long time’ in a pandemic.

‘I very much hope that this stronger rule, together with the local action that we’ve taken in places like Bolton, (can curb the spread of the infection),’ he said.

‘I really hope that we can turn this around before Christmas.’ 

He also made it clear that local lockdown measures would be brought in where necessary, to further curb the spread of the disease.

Several have already been put in place to curb the spread. 

Bolton became the first place in the UK to see pubs and restaurants forced to return to take-out only yesterday after it saw a continuing surge in cases. 

Ministers have revealed that most of the new cases in the UK have been in those in their teens and 20s, while piling on pressure on young people to respect social distancing.

Analysis of Public Health England data shows cases have surged from 9.8 to 28 cases per 100,000 in those aged between 20 to 29 in England since July 4.

And among teenagers, those aged 10 to 19, cases leapt from 4.1 to 16.2 per 100,000.

At the same time those over 80 saw the number of cases recorded among them drop drastically, after they made up the majority during the pandemic.

While fears grow of a severe second wave of Covid-19 hitting the UK, the fact that most cases are among younger, healthy generations offers reassurance that hospitalisations and deaths will not be a direct result of small spikes.

The UK recorded 30 more deaths from coronavirus yesterday, the highest level in six weeks.

However, although the statistic is higher than recent weeks scientists have cautioned against reading too much into one-day fluctuations and have said that broader trends are a better indicator of the situation. 

There were 13 fatalities recorded on Thursday last week and a spell of three days that saw a total 44 in the last week of August. 

When cases rose to almost 3,000 on Sunday it sparked ‘concern’ among ministers and warnings that the UK could be in for a ‘bumpy ride’ if the rapid increase does not slow down.

But many have reported being unable to get a test despite having symptoms of coronavirus because the system directs them to testing centres more than 200 miles away.

Matt Hancock today denied claims the UK’s testing was overwhelmed, and claimed 92 per cent of those requesting a test were receiving it within ten miles of their home.

He said the system had faced a 25 per cent surge of requests from people who do not have symptoms, which are not eligible to get tested. 

‘I’ve heard of cases of whole schools being sent for tests,’ he said, and added that people going on holiday had also applied to get tested. 

The director of testing, Sarah-Jane Marsh, yesterday apologised to those who were not getting tests and warned they were at a ‘critical pinch-point’.

‘Can I please offer my heartfelt apologies to anyone who cannot get a Covid test at present,’ she wrote.

‘All of our testing sites have capacity, which is why they don’t look overcrowded, it’s our laboratory processing that is the critical pinch-point.

‘We are doing all we can to expand quickly.’