Coronavirus: Death toll in UK rises to 104 as 32 more people die in England after testing positive

The coronavirus death toll in the UK now stands at 104 after a further 32 people in England have died after testing positive.

The NHS said patients were aged between 59 and 94 years old and had underlying health conditions.

The confirmed number of coronavirus cases in the UK reached 2,626 - an increase of 676 from Tuesday.

As of 9am on Wednesday, a total of 56,221 people have been tested in the UK, with 53,595 negative test results.

It comes as Scotland and Wales announced they would be closing schools to limit the spread of Covid-19.

No official statement has been made on whether schools in England will remain open, but the prime minister's official spokesman said a decision would be taken "imminently".

Schools in Wales will close by Friday and schools and nurseries in Scotland will "likely" close by the end of the week amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Education minister Kirsty Williams said schools in Wales will close by March 20 at the latest.

While Scotland's first minister Nicola Sturgeon said schools will "likely" close by the end of the week and parents should assume they will remain closed until the summer holidays.

“People should not assume they will reopen after the Easter break," Ms Sturgeon added.

Ms Sturgeon said: "I want to be as open and transparent as possible.

"My view is that it is now inevitable that we will close schools and nurseries.

"My planning assumption now is schools will close to pupils at the end of this week and I wanted today to give parents notice of that now."

She said that schools have lost too many staff to continue as normal and that the government is still working out the finer detail of "what this will all mean".

On whether schools in the UK would remain open, a spokesman for the prime minister said: "Sage (the scientific advisory group for emergencies) will look at their latest modelling in relation to the virus and any necessary steps we can take in relation to its spread.

"The PM will chair a Cobra meeting at 3.45pm and then you will see him later on."

Coronavirus: Everything you need to know