Almost 500 coronavirus deaths recorded in highest toll since May, including the death of a 13-year-old boy

Luke O'Reilly4 November 2020

A further 492 coronavirus deaths have been recorded in the UK, with experts warning the trend in deaths will continue to rise in the coming weeks.

Wednesday’s figure was the highest daily total since May 19, when 500 deaths in the past 24 hours were reported. It brings the UK total to 47,742.

It includes  a 13-year-old who is among the further 302 people who have died in hospital in England . He is among the youngest people in the UK to have died with Covid-19.

The  increase in the number of people to have  died  in the UK within 28 days of testing positive in was up from 397 on Tuesday.

NHS England said on Wednesday that the patients were aged between 13 and 100 years old and the majority had known underlying health conditions.

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 around 63,000 deaths involving Covid-19 in the UK.

The Government said that, as of 9am on Wednesday, there had been a further 25,177 lab-confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK. It brings the total number of cases in the UK to 1,099,059.

This is a marked increase from Tuesday’s total of 20,018 new cases.

Outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in London
REUTERS
Dr Yvonne Doyle, medical director of Public Health England, warned that the number of Covid-19 deaths will continue to rise.
She said: "Sadly we know that the trend in deaths will continue to rise over the next few weeks.
"As the new measures come into place it will take some time for the impact to be seen.
"We have all made sacrifices and they have helped to save many lives. Let's stick with it to keep our loved ones safe.
"The fewer people you see, the more you'll help stop the spread."

It follows a stark projection made during a press conference in September by the Government's chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance, who faced criticism for warning there could be 200-plus daily deaths in November.

It comes as parliament passed legislation implementing a second lockdown in England, despite the efforts of Tory rebels.

From Thursday, pubs, restaurants and non-essential shops will again be forced to close their doors after the Commons voted by 516 to 38 – a Government majority of 478 – for the new restrictions.

Meanwhile, transport usage has surged ahead of the new lockdown restrictions coming into force, according to new figures.

Department for Transport data shows car travel in Britain rose to 87% of pre-pandemic levels on Monday, compared with 83% a week earlier.

Bus use outside London increased from 33% to 37% over the same period, while demand for London Underground trains grew from 57% to 60%.

Van traffic jumped from 98% to 104%, while lorry journeys were up from 105% to 107%.

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