UK coronavirus death toll passes 35,000 mark as further 545 people die

A further 545 people have died after testing positive for coronavirus, taking the Department of Health and Social Care's total figure to 35,341.

The Government once again failed to reach their 100,000 daily target for testing, only carrying out 89,784 on Monday.

The number of deaths announced on Tuesday is up on those confirmed on Monday, which stood at 160.

The Department of Health and Social Care figures differ from those collated by the Office of National Statistics who said on Tuesday that there have been more than 44,000 coronavirus-related deaths in the UK,

NHS England has announced 174 new deaths of people who tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of confirmed reported deaths in hospitals in England to 24,913.

Of the 174 new deaths announced on Tuesday:

  • 29 occurred on May 18

  • 67 occurred on May 17

  • 33 occurred on May 16

The figures also show 43 of the new deaths took place between May 6 and May 15 while the remaining two deaths occurred in April, with the earliest death on April 1.

Of the new deaths, 29 occurred in Scotland on Monday, Nicola Sturgeon has announced.

Speaking at the latest Scottish Government coronavirus briefing in Edinburgh, the First Minister said 14,655 people have tested positive for Covid-19, a rise of 61 from 14,594 the previous day.

There are 1,447 patients in hospital with confirmed or suspected Covid-19, up 20 from 1,427 on Monday, she added.

Meanwhile, Public Health Wales said a further 17 people have died after testing positive for coronavirus, taking the total number of deaths in Wales to 1,224.

Another 166 people tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 12,570.

The number of people who have died after testing positive for coronavirus in Northern Ireland has risen to 489 after seven more deaths were reported by the Department of Health.

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