UK coronavirus death toll rises by 202 bringing total number of fatalities to 41,481

A further 202 people have died after testing positive for coronavirus in the UK, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has said.

The latest deaths brings the total number of people to die in hospitals, care homes and the wider community after testing positive for coronavirus to 41,279.

The Government figures do not include all deaths involving Covid-19 across the UK, which is thought to have passed 52,000.

The DHSC also said in the 24-hour period up to 9am on Friday, 193,253 tests were carried out or dispatched, with 1,541 positive results.

Overall, a total of 6,434,713 tests have been carried out and 292,950 cases have been confirmed positive.

The figure for the number of people tested has been “temporarily paused to ensure consistent reporting” across all methods of testing.

A total of 2,442 patients died in Scotland after testing positive for coronavirus, up by three from 2,439 on Thursday, Nicola Sturgeon announced on Friday.

The First Minister told the Scottish Government’s coronavirus briefing that 15,709 people have tested positive for the virus north of the border, up by 27 from 15,682 the previous day.

There are 914 people in hospital with confirmed or suspected Covid-19, a rise of five in 24 hours.

Of these patients, 23 were in intensive care, up two.

One further coronavirus linked death was reported in Northern Ireland, taking the total reported by the Department of Health to 539.

There were 16 new confirmed cases of the virus, bringing the total to 4,838 since the pandemic began.

Public Health Wales said a further 10 people had died after testing positive for Covid-19, taking the total number of deaths in Wales to 1,435, while the total cases increased by 77 to 14,658.

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