UK Covid-19 deaths increase by 454 and further 54,990 people test positive for virus

NHS staff are facing increased pressure as Covid-19 cases and hospital admissions continue to rise

A further 54,990 people have tested positive for Covid-19 in the UK in the past 24 hours, according to the Department of Health.

This is the sixth day in a row that there were more than 50,000 new cases of Covid-19 in the UK recorded in the past 24 hours, which brings the total number of cases in the UK to 2,654,779.

The government also confirmed another 454 people have died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of Sunday, bringing the UK total to 75,024.

Separate figures published by the UK’s statistics agencies show that more than 91,000 deaths involving coronavirus have now occurred in the UK.

But the figures for deaths are likely to be slightly higher as Scotland are not releasing death data on Sunday.

Health workers wearing full personal protective equipment on the intensive care unit at Whiston Hospital in Merseyside Credit: PPE

England

A further 386 people who tested positive for coronavirus have died in hospital in England, bringing the total number of confirmed deaths reported in hospitals to 51,437, NHS England said on Sunday.

Patients were aged between 30 and 107. All except 18, aged between 59 and 95, had known underlying health conditions.

The deaths were between December 6 2020 and January 2 2021.

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

Wales

A further 56 people have died in Wales after being diagnosed with coronavirus and more than 4,000 new cases have been confirmed, according to the latest data published by Public Health Wales on Sunday.

Another 4,011 people have tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number since the outbreak of the virus to 155,311.

Public Health Wales also said the data released on Sunday covers a 48-hour period instead of the usual 24-hour period and so should be "interpreted with caution".

Scotland

A further 2,464 people have tested positive for coronavirus, according to the latest data from the Department of Health.

It is unknown how many deaths have occurred in the last 24-hour reporting period as the Scottish government are limiting the amount of data they release between 1 January to 4 January.