UK coronavirus death toll jumps to 31,855 after 269 more deaths

Britain has failed to reach its 100,000 testing target for the eighth day in a row.

Another 269 people have died after testing positive for coronavirus, bringing the UK’s official death toll to 31,855. 

The updated total includes fatalities in care homes and the wider community and comes after 205 people were earlier confirmed to have lost their lives in hospitals. 

The Department of Health said that 92,837 tests had been carried out on Saturday – the eighth day in a row the government has missed it’s 100,000 a day target. Posting on Twitter, the Department suggested that 1,334,770 Covid-19 tests had been carried out across the country since the pandemic began, with 219,183 people testing positive overall. However, reporting at the weekend is normally lower, meaning the real figure is likely to be higher.

The UK has seen an increase of 3,923 positive tests over the last 24 hours.

In a tweet, the department said 269 people had died in the last 24 hours, however, yesterday’s death toll suggests there has only been 268 deaths.

It comes ahead of a much-discussed speech by Prime Minister Boris Johnson this evening, which is expected to provide a ‘road map’ of how the lockdown will be eased. 

A new slogan – ‘Stay alert, control the virus and save lives’ – shared by the PM, has been widely criticised ahead of the speech, with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland’s government ministers refusing to back it, amid fears that a change in messaging could lead to a spike in cases. 

Scotland’s First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, said she would not change her stance, ‘given the critical point we are at’, before tweeting the original slogan in capital letters. 

She wrote: ‘STAY HOME. PROTECT THE NHS. SAVE LIVES.’

Wales’ Health Minister, Vaughan Gething, said there had not been ‘four nations agreement’ on the new message, adding that the Welsh’s government would not be changing its messaging.

And Northern Ireland First Minister Arlene Foster echoed the position, saying she too is sticking with the ‘stay home’ message.

Britain’s death toll from coronavirus is now the second worst in the world and the highest in Europe – but the official figure is widely believed to be significantly below the true total.

This is a breaking story – more to follow.

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