Covid-19: Further 215 deaths in UK as 12,155 test positive for coronavirus

A Covid swab test is carried out on a person in a car
Covid-19 cases have been falling in the UK over the past few days. Credit: PA

A further 215 people in the UK have died within 28 days of a positive Covid-19 test, bringing the total to more than 58,245.

Separate figures published by the UK's statistics agencies for deaths where coronavirus has been mentioned on the death certificate, together with additional data on deaths that have occurred in recent days, show there have now been 73,000 deaths involving Covid-19 in the UK.

As of Sunday, a further 12,155 positive coronavirus cases were recorded.

It brings the total number of cases in the UK to 1,617,327.

Currently there are an average of 171.3 coronavirus cases per 100,000 people in the UK, though this numbers differs greatly across the country.

On Friday, government scientists said the reproduction number for coronavirus – the R value – has dropped below 1 across the UK for the first time since September.

The latest statistics show the R number is between 0.9 and 1, while the estimated growth rate means the number of new infections are dropping by 0-2% each day.

According to the statistics, every 10 people with Covid-19 will go onto infect between nine and 10 people.

Sunday's statistics show that Covid-19 cases are down 25% over the past seven days - likely due to the lockdowns in England, Wales and Northern Ireland over the last few weeks, as well as tough restrictions in Scotland.

However, deaths over the same period are up 4.3%, though trends in deaths tend to lag behind those seen in cases due to the time taken between a person becoming ill and deteriorating.

Over the last seven days, average Covid cases across the UK have fallen but deaths have risen. Credit: PA

England

A further 208 people who tested positive for coronavirus have died in hospital in England, bringing the total number of confirmed deaths reported in hospitals to 40,405, NHS England said on Sunday.

Patients were aged between 39 and 100. All except 13, aged between 56 and 86, had known underlying health conditions.

The deaths were between October 25 and November 28.

Nine other deaths were reported with no positive Covid-19 test result.

Scotland

On Sunday, a further two Covid-19 deaths were reported in Scotland and 746 new cases recorded.

Wales

In Wales, no new Covid-19 deaths were reported and 1,004 new cases were recorded.

Northern Ireland

Three more deaths were recorded in Northern Ireland and 351 more people tested positive for coronavirus.