UK announces 97 more coronavirus victims taking the nation’s official death count to 42,066
- NHS England and the governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland confirmed a combined 97 victims
- Number of deaths being announced each day continues to tumble across Britain as the virus fades
- Scientists have said they are hopeful deaths will no longer be recorded every day by the end of the month
- Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19
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The UK has announced another 97 deaths from the coronavirus today, taking the country’s total number of victims to 42,066.
Deaths announced so far today include hospital deaths in England and those that happened in all settings in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Both daily and weekly statistics show the Covid-19 outbreak is continuing to fade across Britain, with 938 deaths announced in the past seven days, compared to 1,400 in the week between last Wednesday and Thursday, June 4.
And a report from the Office for National Statistics yesterday revealed that London has become the first region where the number of people dying of any cause has fallen below average – this has not happened anywhere else since March.
A weekly report from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed the number of people who died of any cause in London was 2.8 per cent lower than average between May 30 and June 5 — 891 down from 917.
The falling numbers of deaths and plateau in new cases means that the UK can continue to push out of lockdown. ‘Non-essential’ high street shops reopened to the public for the first time on Monday and a further loosening of rules is expected in just two weeks’ time.
In other coronavirus news today:
- More than 5,500 people have signed a petition to close Oxfordshire shopping and tourist destination Bicester Village amid concerns visitors flocking there risk spreading the virus;
- Health Secretary Matt Hancock raised hopes for people wanting a summer holiday as he said the Government will permit people to travel to some low-risk countries without being quarantined when they return;
- More than 100 workers at a meat factory in Wales have been sent into self-isolation – the factory supplies chicken to KFC and Tesco;
- The Government is still under mounting pressure to help more children get back to school amid fury they are allowed to go to zoos and high street shops but not to continue education;
- Matt Hancock hinted the Government is trying to get rid of the 2m (6’6″) social distancing rule and chief scientist Sir Patrick Vallance said shorter distances could be ‘managed’.
NHS England accounts for the bulk of the fatalities announced so far today, with confirmation 77 people died in its hospitals between March 29 and June 16.
A further 10 more people are reported to have died in Wales, along with nine in Scotland and one in Northern Ireland.
A full round-up including all deaths in English care homes will be published by the Department of Health later today.
Today’s statistics come as movements in the Government suggest people could still be allowed to travel abroad on holiday this summer without facing a fortnight in isolation afterwards.
While the 14-day self-isolation for arrivals from countries where coronavirus is ‘out of control’ like Brazil, countries with far lower numbers of cases could be exempted, the Health Secretary said this morning.
Matt Hancock refused to divulge which countries could be included but confirmed he and Transport Secretary Grant Shapps are a working on a list of these countries and it will be published before the quarantine is reviewed on June 29.
The comments will bring hope to millions of Britons desperate for a summer break. But it remains to be seen which countries will want to welcome UK visitors, with the country having the highest death rate in Europe.
Only yesterday, New Zealand’s 24-day coronavirus-free streak came to an end when two British visitors tested positive for the disease, which the Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said ‘should never have happened’.
Mr Hancock told the BBC’s Today programme that the quarantine would have to stay for places where the disease is still rife. He cited Brazil as an example.
‘Having said that there are other countries where it may be safe to not have a quarantine in place in the same way,’ he added.
‘Ahead of the formal legally-required review of the quarantine arrangements on June 29 I am working with Grant Shapps on whether there are countries that have a low rate of infection, where we trust their figures, where the infection isn’t going up and we can have that discussion with the other country, and come to an agreement on a travel corridor.’
Meanwhile, ministers are under fast-growing pressure to let more children return to school with experts warning an entire generation could suffer lasting damage from the months they have spent out of education.