Coronavirus: Another 180 people die after testing positive in UK – taking total to 1,415
Written by News on 30/03/2020
Another 180 people have died in the UK after testing positive for coronavirus, taking the total to 1,415.
The number – which was down from the previous day’s 207 – counts those who died in the 24 hours up to 5pm on Sunday.
In England, 159 people died after contracting the virus, taking the total to 1,284.
It comes as the boss of the NHS in England said 9,000 people were being treated in hospital after contracting the virus – a rise of 2,800 since Friday.
A further six people also died in Scotland, according to latest figures, taking the total to 47.
In Wales, the number of people who have died is 62, a rise of 14.
And the number of people who have died in Northern Ireland has risen by one to 22, with total cases at 533.
As of Monday, 134,946 tests have been concluded across the UK, of which 112,805 were confirmed negative and 22,141 positive, the Department of Health said.
In Scotland, there were 1,563 confirmed cases of coronavirus as of 9am on Monday, up 179 from Sunday.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon added that the SEC Centre in Glasgow would be turned into a hospital and cancer screening programmes paused to help the NHS respond to the crisis.
Scotland’s chief medical officer, Dr Catherine Calderwood, said the actual number of cases there is estimated at more than 100,000.
Confirmed cases in Wales have risen to 1,451, after 210 new cases were recorded on Monday.
Dr Giri Shankar, incident director for the COVID-19 outbreak response at Public Health Wales, said “the true number of cases is likely to be higher”.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said on Sunday the UK had reached 10,000 tests a day, which he added was ahead of schedule as the government works towards 25,000 tests a day.
Health minister Helen Whately defended the UK’s coronavirus testing regime following growing calls for the country to hugely expand its programme.
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She told Sky News the country was “right at the top of the league table” for testing – despite admitting countries such as South Korea and Germany have conducted many more tests.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has previously called on national governments to “test, test, test” as the “backbone” of the global response to the pandemic.
WHO figures show the increase in new infections worldwide is now around 70,000 per day – up from about 50,000 just days ago. More than 32,000 people have died worldwide.
(c) Sky News 2020: Coronavirus: Another 180 people die after testing positive in UK – taking total to 1,415
