UK coronavirus death toll jumps to 422 after biggest daily increase

A total of 422 patients who tested positive for coronavirus have died in the UK as of 1pm on Tuesday, the NHS has said.

The jump of 87 represents the largest day-on-day increase in the number of deaths since the Covid-19 outbreak began.

The 26% rise is not just the biggest percentage day-on-day increase so far but is higher than the 19% increase reported yesterday.

The UK’s first coronavirus-related death was recorded on March 5. It took another 13 days for the number of deaths to pass 100 (on March 18), then three more days to pass 200 (on March 21).

It has taken just three days for the total to pass 400.

Two more people in Scotland died after testing positive for Covid-19, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said, taking the total to 16.

One further death of a person in Wales who tested positive for coronavirus has been reported, taking the number of deaths in the country to 17, Public Health Wales said.

The total number of coronavirus-linked deaths in Northern Ireland rose to five. The two fatalities confirmed on Tuesday included 82-year-old Ruth Burke, whose family spoke publicly about her death in Antrim Area Hospital.

NHS England said a further 83 people had died in England, bringing the total number of deaths there to 386.

Patients were aged between 33 and 103 years old and all were in vulnerable groups including those with underlying conditions.

The first coronavirus-related death in the UK was March 5. Credit: PA

As of 9am on Tuesday, a total of 90,436 people have been tested, with 8,077 positive results, up from 6,650 at the same point on Monday.

According to NHS England, 21 of the deaths were reported at London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust in Harrow.

Northwick Hospital in Harrow, which is part of London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust, declared a "critical incident" last Thursday after running out of intensive care beds because of a surge in coronavirus cases.

In a message to staff, the Northwick Hospital in Harrow said it had no critical care capacity left last Thursday evening and had contacted neighbouring hospitals about transferring patients who need critical car

A further seven died at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow, Essex, while four died at each of Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, University Hospitals of Leicester and Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

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