UK’s death toll reaches 43,575 after 25 die
Another 25 people have died, bringing the UK’s coronavirus death toll to 43,575.
The figure covers fatalities across all settings including hospitals, care homes and the wider community. Since Covid-19 broke out in the UK, a total of 311,965 have tested positive for the virus.
As of 9am today there have been 9,290,215 tests, of which 93,881 were carried out yesterday.
There has been one death reported in Northern Ireland, three in Wales, while there have been no new coronavirus fatalities in Scotland for the fourth day running.
Speaking at the Scottish Government’s coronavirus briefing, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: ‘Of course, two of these days have been weekends and we know that registration can be artificially low at weekends, and we may see more deaths registered later this week.
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‘But there’s no doubt that these recent figures demonstrate beyond any doubt how much progress Scotland has made in tackling Covid and that is down to the efforts and sacrifices of everyone across the country.
‘I want again to say a heartfelt thank you to all of you for that.’
It comes as the worldwide death toll hit 500,000, with more than 10 million confirmed cases, according to Johns Hopkins University researchers.
The global death toll currently stands at 501,893. Around one in four of those fatalities have occurred in the US, with the death toll surpassing 125,000.
Brazil has the second highest toll with more than 57,000 deaths, while the UK is in third place.
Several countries have had to reimpose restrictions in certain regions after seeing a spike in cases.
Leicester could remain with its current lockdown restrictions for another two weeks, despite the hospitality and tourism industry set to reopen on July 4 across England.
It could become the first English region to be locked down locally, after 866 Covid-19 cases were reported in the last two weeks.
However, it is not a total return to lockdown but further information is ‘key to determining what intervention is needed,’ said mayor of Leicester Sir Peter Soulsby.
Meanwhile, California governor Gavin Newsom has rolled back the reopenings of bars in seven counties – less than a month after they welcomed customers back.
Similar decisions were made by Republican governors in Texas and Florida in an attempt to stop the rising infection rate.
China has put half a million people into a Wuhan-style lockdown after a surge in cases.
Health officials said Sunday that Anxin county – around 91 miles from Beijing – will be ‘fully enclosed and controlled’.
The county’s epidemic prevention task force said in a statement that only one person per household will be allowed to go out once a day to buy essentials such as food and medicine.
However in Wales, further restrictions will be lifted, allowing two households to meet and pair up to form ‘one extended household’ from July 6, First Minister Mark Drakeford has said.
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