Boy, 11, with no underlying health issues is among latest 870 to die from coronavirus in England and Scotland as UK death toll nears 9,000
An 11-year-old boy with no underlying health issues is among a further 823 people who have died in English hospitals after testing positive for coronavirus, bringing the total deaths in the nation to 8,937.
Patients were aged between 11 and 102 years old and 33 of the 823 patients – aged between 29 and 94 years old – had no known underlying health condition.
Today’s daily rise is less of a jump than yesterday’s when 866 were reported to have died in English hospitals.
Scotland today confirmed a further 47 deaths, bringing the nation’s total fatalities to 542.
The rise in deaths came as ministers ramped up their calls for Britons to remain indoors on a warm Easter weekend.
But some of the public flouted these instructions and flocked to the nation’s parks, forcing police patrolling on horseback to intervene.
On another grim day in Britain’s coronavirus epidemic:
- A row erupted between Health Secretary Matt Hancock and a top nurse over his claims that medics were overusing personal protective equipment;
- Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer led the backlash over the Health Secretary’s claim that NHS staff were ‘wasting’ PPE;
- Downing Street said the Prime Minister was making extremely good progress with his recovery from coronavirus;
- Former Home Secretary David Blunkett blasted ‘Sermon on the Mount’ coronavirus briefings by ministers and accuses officials of ‘hectoring’ people;
- Scientists said coronavirus can spread 13 FEET from sufferers – more than twice the 6ft social distancing gap demanded by government – and that isolating infected people at home is not a good strategy
A police officer on a horse talks to sunbathers in Victoria Park, London, as Britons continue to bask in the glorious Easter sunshine
A group of eight police officers was seen walking past people taking their daily exercise in St James’s Park in central London