UK coronavirus deaths rise by 363 taking total to 35,704

Ewan Somerville20 May 2020

A further 363 people have died in the UK after contracting coronavirus.

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said 35,704 people had now died in hospitals, care homes and the wider community after testing positive as of 5pm on Tuesday, up by 363.

In the 24-hour period up to 9am on Wednesday 177,216 tests were carried out or dispatched, with 2,472 positive results.

The Cabinet minister told the Downing Street briefing that overall a total of 2,962,227 tests have been carried out, and 248,293 cases have been confirmed positive.

The death toll in the UK has passed 35,000
Getty Images

NHS England recorded another 166 deaths in hospitals past 24 hours, meaning the total in hospitals now stands at 25,080.

A total of 2,184 patients have died in Scotland after testing positive for coronavirus, up by 50 from 2,134 on Tuesday, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said.

Public Health Wales said a further 14 people have died after testing positive for coronavirus, taking the total number of deaths in Wales to 1,238, while Northern Ireland saw a rise of five.

The UK-wide figure inclusive of deaths in care homes and the wider community will be published by the Department of Health and Social Care later this afternoon.

The increase in England infections will also be released later.

Speaking in Holyrood on Wednesday, Ms Sturgeon said 14,751 people have now tested positive for the virus in Scotland, up by 96 from 14,655 the day before.

There are 1,443 patients in hospital with confirmed or suspected Covid-19, a decrease of four from 1,447 on Tuesday, she added. Of these, 53 were in intensive care, a fall of six.

In Wales, another 110 people tested positive, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 12,680.

The latest fatalities come as the most recent Public Health England data showed that London recorded zero Covid-19 infections for the first time since the outbreak began.

The hopeful figures showed none of the swabs taken in the capital on Monday came back positive.

Officials put it down to technical hitch in the reporting system, but it backs the trend in recent data that the level of infections in London are halving every 3.5 days.

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