Coronavirus: UK death toll rises by 209 in one day, reaching 1,228

All but four of latest victims in England had underlying health conditions, NHS says

The coronavirus death toll in the UK has risen to 1,228 after claiming a further 209 lives, the Department of Health has said.

It is the second largest day-on-day rise in the number of deaths reported since the outbreak began.

More than 127,000 people have so far been tested for the virus, with 19,522 testing positive as of 9am on Sunday, although a lack of testing means the true figure is likely far higher.

In England, a further 190 people have died after contracting Covid-19, aged between 39 and 105. Their families have been informed.

All but four – aged between 57 and 87 – had underlying health conditions, the NHS said.

The virus has taken 10 more lives in Wales and six in Northern Ireland, bringing their death tolls to 48 and 21, respectively.

It took 16 days for the number of deaths in the UK to go from one to just over 200. It has taken half that time for the total to go from just over 200 to just over 1,200.

Keeping the number of coronavirus deaths below 20,000 would be a “good result” for the UK, NHS England’s medical director said during Downing Street’s daily press conference on Saturday.

Warning that even this figure is only achievable if people stay in their homes, Professor Stephen Powis said: “I cannot emphasise enough. You have the chance to save a life, you have the chance to stop a ventilator being used that otherwise would need to be used.”

With health officials racing to scale-up the UK’s intensive care capacity, Professor Powis offered reassurance that there were still beds available in London, which has considerably more cases than anywhere else in the UK.

The survival rate in the UK for those receiving critical care for coronavirus sits at close to 50 per cent in the UK, excluding Scotland, according to data from the Intensive Care National Audit and Research Centre.

Of 775 people who have been or are receiving such care across 285 different units, 79 died, 86 were discharged, and 610 remain in hospital.

As the nation nears the end of its first week in lockdown, Boris Johnson – who has contracted the virus, along with the health secretary and England’s chief medical officer – has written to the country imploring people to stay indoors or risk lengthening the measures and driving the death toll higher.

Additional reporting by PA