UK coronavirus death toll rises by 176 ahead of lockdown lifting in England
A further 176 people have died from coronavirus in the UK, bringing the total death toll to 43,906.
The Department of Health said 226,398 had been carried out in the past day. As of this morning, 9,662,051 tests have been carried out but the reporting on the number of people has been paused to “ensure consistent reporting”.
Yesterday, data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which includes suspected cases, showed the UK’s coronavirus death toll nearing 55,000.
The total number of deaths – 54,872 – makes the UK one of the world’s worst affected geographies. In England and Wales, there have been 49,371 recorded deaths from the start of the pandemic to 19 June.
It comes as England plans to lift lockdown restrictions on pubs, restaurants, cinemas, galleries and hairdressers on Saturday.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer questioned Boris Johnson on the level of coronavirus testing data at Prime Minister’s Questions. He raised concerns from Leicester’s local authority that it had only known about 80 cases in a two-week period when the real figure had been 944 cases.
On Monday the health secretary Matt Hancock announced the first local lockdown in Leicester after the area was hit with an outbreak of cases. It means plans for reopening will not go ahead, and all non-essential shops have closed.
Officials confirmed Leicester had accounted for 10 per cent of all new coronavirus cases in the last week, with nearly 1,000 cases confirmed in the last fortnight.
The UK government is also reportedly considering more local lockdowns in areas where coronavirus cases are rising.
According to Sky News reports, Public Health England and the Department of Health are “working collaboratively” to focus on at-risk areas. Figures obtained by the broadcaster show Leicester has the highest rate of cases in the week between 15 and 21 June, followed by Bradford and Barnsley.