Coronavirus UK: 11 new fatalities in death toll
Britain records just 11 more coronavirus deaths in lowest daily toll for 17 WEEKS but government data shows average number of new cases has risen 6% in first week-on-week rise since May
By Stephen Matthews Health Editor For Mailonline
Published: 09:08 EDT, 13 July 2020 | Updated: 11:26 EDT, 13 July 2020
Britain today announced its lowest daily coronavirus death toll for 17 weeks, recording just 11 more victims of the life-threatening infection.
Department of Health chiefs say the final tally, which includes laboratory-confirmed fatalities in all settings across the UK, now stands at 44,830.
Government data shows 21 fatalities were recorded yesterday as well as 16 last Monday. However, counts released on Sundays and Mondays are always lower because of a recording lag at weekends.
Eighty-three Britons are now dying from Covid-19 each day, on average — down 12 per cent on the average of 95 last Monday, according to government data.
Separate figures released today also showed the number of new confirmed cases has now risen for three days in a row, raising fears that the outbreak may no longer be shrinking.
Health officials registered 530 more coronavirus infections today, taking the rolling weekly average to 624 — up 6 per cent on the 590 last Monday and the first week-on-week rise since the start of May.
In other coronavirus developments Britain today:
- Face masks could be made compulsory in shops ‘in the next few days’ as Boris Johnson promised clarity after ministers sparked confusion by contradicting each other over the policy;
- More than 100 outbreaks of coronavirus in schools, businesses and pubs are ‘swiftly and silently’ being dealt with every week across the UK, Health Secretary Matt Hancock revealed;
- The drive to bring workers back to the office from coronavirus lockdown hit a roadblock after some of country’s biggest firms said only 40 per cent will return from home;
- Councils in England are preparing to make significant cuts in jobs and services after losing income on investments in airports, cinemas and offices amid the coronavirus pandemic;
- British pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca is preparing to launch human trials of an antibody treatment that could protect old and vulnerable people from coronavirus;
- Beauty salons, nail bars and tattoo shops in England opened the first time in four months as part of the latest relaxation of lockdown restrictions;
- Immunity to Covid-19 might be lost within months, according to research that suggests the virus could infect people on an annual basis, like the flu.
A further 21 people have died from coronavirus in 24 hours bringing the UK’s total death toll to 44,819
BORIS PROMISES CLARITY ON FACE MASKS ‘IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS’
Boris Johnson wore his facemask again today as he visited the headquarters of the London Ambulance Service
Boris Johnson vowed clarity on face masks ‘in the next few days’ today as the government’s approach descended into shambles.
The PM, who was wearing a covering out and about in London this morning, insisted they had a ‘great deal of value’ in confined spaces such as shops.
He said ministers and officials were ‘looking at’ the guidance on whether they should be compulsory in such settings, and suggested an announcement is imminent.
The comments came amid accusations that the government is ‘all over the place’ on face masks with the premier Mr Gove seemingly at odds over requiring them in shops. Currently they are only required by law on public transport in England.
Scientists have warned that the public will be ‘confused’ after the Cabinet minister insisted wearing coverings indoors should be a matter of ‘courtesy’.
Mr Johnson said on Friday that the government ‘needs to be stricter in insisting people wear face coverings in confined spaces’.
Meanwhile, Justice Secretary Robert Buckland added to the sense of confusion by saying ‘perhaps’ masks should become mandatory inside, arguing it was more than a ‘courtesy’ and about ‘safety’.
Nicola Sturgeon has already brought the rule in for Scotland, while London mayor Sadiq Khan has been demanding the change.
Department of Health figures released yesterday showed 207,000 tests were carried out or posted the day before. The number includes antibody tests for frontline NHS and care workers.
But bosses again refused to say how many people were tested, meaning the exact number of Brits who have been swabbed for the SARS-CoV-2 virus has been a mystery for a month — since May 22.
Health chiefs also reported 650 more cases of Covid-19. Government statistics show the official size of the UK’s outbreak now stands at 289,603 cases.
But the actual size of the outbreak, which began to spiral out of control in March, is estimated to be in the millions, based on antibody testing data.
The daily death data does not represent how many Covid-19 patients died within the last 24 hours — it is only how many fatalities have been reported and registered with the authorities.
The data does not always match updates provided by the home nations. Department of Health officials work off a different time cut-off, meaning daily updates from Scotland as well as Northern Ireland are always out of sync.
And the count announced by NHS England every afternoon — which only takes into account deaths in hospitals — does not match up with the DH figures because they work off a different recording system.
For instance, some deaths announced by NHS England bosses will have already been counted by the Department of Health, which records fatalities ‘as soon as they are available’.
More than 1,000 infected Brits died each day during the darkest days of the crisis in mid-April but the number of victims had been dropping by around 20 to 30 per cent week-on-week since the start of May.
NHS England today posted 11 deaths in hospitals across the country. One Covid-19 fatalities was recorded in all settings in Northern Ireland but none were registered in Scotland or Wales.
It comes after the Health Secretary today claimed more than 100 outbreaks of coronavirus are ‘swiftly and silently’ being dealt with every week across the UK.
Matt Hancock revealed how flare-ups in schools, businesses and pubs across the country are consistently being handled with ‘local actions’, just nine days after many businesses reopened.
Writing in the Daily Telegraph today, he added that many of the outbreaks are nipped in the bud before they can ‘make the news’.
He stated that increased testing, some of which is being done door-to-door in infected areas, means officials can take a more targeted approach rather than imposing national measures.
Mr Hancock’s comments came after 73 cases of the virus were confirmed at A S Green And Co, a farm in Mathon, Herefordshire, leading to around 200 workers being quarantined as a precautionary measure.
In other developments today, Boris Johnson vowed clarity on face masks in the next few days as the government’s approach on coverings descended into shambles.
The Prime Minister, who was pictured wearing a covering out and about in London this morning, insisted they had a ‘great deal of value’ in confined spaces such as shops.
COVID-19 IMMUNITY MAY BE LOST WITHIN MONTHS, STUDY FINDS
Immunity to Covid-19 might be lost within months, according to research. The graph shows how antibody levels peaked five weeks after symptoms began (POS) but then faded away. The colour of the dots indicate severity, with purple being the most severe symptoms
Immunity to Covid-19 might be lost within months, according to research.
The findings suggest that, like the common cold and flu, the virus could infect people on an annual basis.
This undermines ideas that herd immunity could be a way of defeating the virus.
King’s College London scientists looked at the immune response of more than 90 patients and healthcare workers at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS foundation trust.
They found antibody levels peaked three weeks after symptoms and then declined.
Lead author Dr Katie Doores told the Guardian: ‘People are producing a reasonable antibody response to the virus, but it’s waning over a short period of time and depending on how high your peak is, that determines how long the antibodies are staying.’
He claimed ministers and officials were ‘looking at’ the guidance on whether they should be compulsory in such settings, and suggested an announcement is imminent.
The comments came amid accusations that the government is ‘all over the place’ on face masks with the premier seemingly at odds with Michael Gove over requiring them in shops.
Scientists have warned that the public will be ‘confused’ after the Cabinet minister insisted wearing coverings indoors should be a matter of ‘courtesy’.
Mr Johnson said on Friday that the government ‘needs to be stricter in insisting people wear face coverings in confined spaces’.
Meanwhile, Justice Secretary Robert Buckland added to the sense of confusion by saying ‘perhaps’ masks should become mandatory inside, arguing it was more than a ‘courtesy’ and about ‘safety’.
More questions today arose over the coronavirus immunity puzzle, with research suggesting that antibody levels peak three weeks after symptoms and then fade away.
The findings — uncovered by a team at King’s College London — suggest that the coronavirus could infect people on an annual basis, like the flu.
This undermines ideas herd immunity could be a way of defeating the virus and that any protection from a vaccine may not be very long lasting and the vaccine may need to be reformulated every year.
Researchers looked at the immune response of more than 90 patients and healthcare workers at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS foundation trust.
But there remains a chance that even if antibody levels do drop, the body could fight off the virus a second time using T-cells.
It comes as another study found more than half of hospitalised coronavirus patients given heart scans worldwide were found to have abnormalities.
Separate figures released yesterday showed more than 230,000 Covid-19 cases were recorded on Sunday in the darkest 24 hours of the pandemic so far, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
The record-high number of new infections means 12.5million people worldwide have now been struck down since the pandemic began back in December.
Outbreaks are growing in the US, Brazil, India and South Africa, statistics show. While European nations appear to have emerged from the worst of the crisis.
The coronavirus — which first emerged in China — has killed more than half a million but the number of infected patients dying each day has barely changed.
WHO chiefs have warned the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic is yet to come because the spread of the virus is accelerating in some parts of the world.
The total number of cases worldwide has doubled in the last six weeks, according to Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the UN agency.
Dr Tedros last week warned the coronavirus pandemic has still not reached its peak and admitted the situation is ‘getting worse’.
HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE REALLY DIED OF THE CORONAVIRUS IN THE UK?
Department of Health: 44,819
Department of Health’s latest death count for all settings (as of 9am, July 8) stands at 44,819.
The daily data does not represent how many Covid-19 patients died within the last 24 hours — it is only how many fatalities have been reported and registered with the authorities.
It also only takes into account patients who tested positive for the virus, as opposed to deaths suspected to be down to the coronavirus.
National statistical bodies: 55,216
Data compiled by the statistical bodies of each of the home nations show 55,216 people died of either confirmed or suspected Covid-19 across the UK by the end of May.
The Office for National Statistics yesterday confirmed that 50,219 people in England and Wales died with confirmed or suspected Covid-19 by June 19.
The number of coronavirus deaths was 824 by the same day in Northern Ireland, according to the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA).
National Records Scotland — which collects statistics north of the border — said 4,173 people had died across the country by June 22.
Their tallies are always 10 days behind the Department of Health (DH) because they wait until as many fatalities as possible for each date have been counted, to avoid having to revise their statistics.
Excess deaths: 65,249
The total number of excess deaths has now passed 65,000.
Excess deaths are considered to be an accurate measure of the number of people killed by the pandemic because they include a broader spectrum of victims.
As well as including people who may have died with Covid-19 without ever being tested, the data also shows how many more people died because their medical treatment was postponed, for example, or who didn’t or couldn’t get to hospital when they were seriously ill.
Data from England and Wales shows there has been an extra 59,324 deaths between March 15 and June 12, as well as 4,924 in Scotland between March 10 and June 22 and 1,001 in Northern Ireland between March 28 and June 26.
