ALMOST 40,000 people had died of coronavirus in England and Wales as of May 8, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has said. It comes as the UK said there have been a further 545 COVID-19 related deaths in all settings in the past day.
Another 2,412 people have tested positive for coronavirus since yesterday, he added.
The figure is a sharp increase on the 160 deaths reported yesterday, which was the lowest daily total since the lockdown began in March.
However, figures are often lower on Monday and higher on Tuesday due to a lag in reporting over the weekend.
Moreover, the true number of victims in the UK is likely to be 10,000 higher than the health department’s official figures.
Data released this morning by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed that there have now been more than 44,000 coronavirus-related deaths in the UK.
Almost 10,000 of these deaths took place in care homes in England and Wales, according to the statistics.
Ministers are facing growing pressure over whether they have done enough to protect those in care homes. A leaked study by Public Health England, seen by the Guardian, found temporary workers had spread coronavirus across care homes.
Yesterday health secretary Matt Hancock announced that the government was expanding coronavirus testing to anyone over the age of five with symptoms.
