Covid: UK coronavirus deaths surpass 80,000 and total cases top 3,000,000

  • Video report by ITV News Political Correspondent Carl Dinnen

The UK has reached another grim milestone amid the coronavirus pandemic, with the death toll surpassing 80,000.

The Government reported a further 1,035 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of Saturday. It brings the UK total to 80,868.

And as of 9am on Saturday, there had been a further 59,937 lab-confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK.

It brings the total number of cases in the UK to 3,017,409.

The three million figure has been passed just three weeks after cases passed the two million mark on December 19.

A Covid-19 sign in Manchester. Credit: PA

The new milestone comes as doctors have warned pressure on the NHS is likely to worsen in the coming weeks, as Covid figures for daily deaths, hospital admissions and infections rise.

The government has doubled down on its "stay at home" message by launching a new public health advert, fronted by England’s chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty, urging everyone in England to “act like you’ve got” Covid-19.

On Friday, the UK recorded its deadliest day of the pandemic so far, with a further 1,325 people having died of the disease within 28 days of testing positive. It takes the UK total to 79,833.

The one million lab-confirmed case mark was previously reached on October 31, although the Government did not start mass testing until last May, meaning many earlier cases will have been missed and the true number of total cases since the start of the outbreak will be higher.

Separate figures published by the UK’s statistics agencies for deaths where Covid-19 has been mentioned on the death certificate, together with additional data on deaths that have occurred in recent days, show there have now been 95,000 deaths involving Covid-19 in the UK.

A paramedic with ambulances outside the Royal London hospital Credit: Dominic Lipinski/PA

England

A further 625 people who tested positive for coronavirus have died in hospital in England, bringing the total number of confirmed deaths reported in hospitals to 55,072, NHS England said on Saturday. The deaths were between November 15 and January 8. There were 41 other deaths reported with no positive Covid-19 test result.

Wales

There have been a further 2,373 cases of coronavirus in Wales, taking the total number of confirmed cases to 168,094. Public Health Wales reported another 62 deaths, taking the total in Wales since the start of the pandemic to 3,919.

Northern Ireland 1,442 people tested positive for Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, according to the Department of Health, taking the total number of cases since the start of the pandemic to 87,588.

A further nine deaths have been reported in Northern Ireland, bringing the death toll to 1,443.