UK coronavirus death toll increases by 15 - lowest rise since mid-March

A further 15 people have died in hospitals, care homes and the wider community after testing positive for coronavirus in the UK, taking the total to 42,647.

This is the lowest daily reported rise in deaths since March 15 but there is often a lag in the reporting of deaths over weekends.

There was positive news from Scotland where no new coronavirus deaths have been registered in the last 24 hours, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said.

Ms Sturgeon said: “The virus hasn’t gone away, there are already countries – China and Germany for example – that are right now dealing with spikes in cases as a result of significant outbreaks.

"And health officials in South Korea have said they think the country is now experiencing a second wave.

“I know that when numbers of cases and deaths here are continuing to fall it is very tempting for all of us to think it is all over and we should just now quickly get back to normal.

“We are trying to get back to normal and we want to do that as quickly as possible, but let me reiterate my strong view that acting recklessly now would be a serious mistake.

“We must continue to be cautious and all of us must continue to adhere strictly to the public health advice. That will help us continue progress and avoid a resurgence of the virus now.

“But it will also hopefully put us in a much stronger position ahead of the winter months to come.”

Public Health Wales said one further person had died after testing positive for Covid-19, taking the total number of deaths to 1,478.

Coronavirus: Everything you need to know