Coronavirus: Number of UK cases rises to 456 – up 83 in last 24 hours

The number of people with the coronavirus in the UK has risen to 456 after a further 83 tested positive for the disease in the last 24 hours.

The number is the biggest daily increase so far in coronavirus cases in the UK, where six people have died from the illness.

There were 54 new cases recorded in the 24 hours leading up to 9am on Tuesday, and 46 new cases were identified in the 24 hours up to 9am on Monday.

The daily figures have been released by Public Health England.

Two British people have died from the illness outside of the UK, with one of them dying in Indonesia and the other in Japan.

A drive-through coronavirus test site has opened in Wolverhampton to allow members of the public to check if they have the disease.

The NHS in England is set to “ramp up” facilities nationwide so 10,000 tests can be done each day.

The chancellor has told British people fearful of the coronavirus that “we will get through this together”.

Rishi Sunak used his budget to unveil a £30bn stimulus for the UK as it prepares to be hit by the worldwide impact of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

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This included a business rates holiday for some firms.

It came after health minister Nadine Dorries tested positive for the coronavirus and a member of her staff is ill.

Ms Dorries is self-isolating at home and has appealed to fellow MPs to get in touch if they have recently been in contact with her, Sky News understands.

She is the first MP in the UK to be diagnosed with COVID-19, as the virus spread further on Tuesday.

Labour’s Rachael Maskell revealed she had been advised by the NHS 111 helpline to self-isolate following a meeting with Ms Dorries last Thursday, even though she is displaying no symptoms of COVID-19.

She told Sky News she would continue her work as an MP by holding meetings over the phone, adding: “This will become a norm over the coming weeks and days as we are seeing more people being diagnosed with coronavirus.”

A study has found people who have contracted the coronavirus are at their most contagious early after becoming infected and potentially before displaying symptoms.

Scientists in Berlin and Munich conducted the study, which is still awaiting peer review, by analysing clinical data from patients who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 and checking them with throat swabs.

(c) Sky News 2020: Coronavirus: Number of UK cases rises to 456 – up 83 in last 24 hours