UK announces 464 more coronavirus victims taking the total official death toll to 30,540

England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have announced a further 464 coronavirus victims in NHS hospitals.

The total official death toll for the UK is now 30,540 – Britain last night became the first country in Europe to declare more than 30,000 people had died.

More fatalities that have happened outside of hospitals, such as in care homes, are expected to be announced by the Department of Health later today. 

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is this week expected to announce how the UK’s lockdown measures will begin to loosen from Monday, with limits on outdoor activities expected to be the first thing to relax. 

NHS England today confirmed 383 more people had died in its hospitals between May 6 and March 19, aged between 28 and 100 years old.

The 28-year-old patient had no other health problems before they were diagnosed with the coronavirus, it said.

Scotland, meanwhile, announced a further 59 fatalities, and 18 more people died in Wales along with four in Northern Ireland. 

Britain now has the second highest death toll in the world, after the US where 75,000 people have succumbed to the pneumonia-causing virus. 

Despite the UK’s international status as a bad example – newspapers around the world are pointing the finger at Britain’s handling of the crisis as a ‘problem child’ – politicians are pressing forward with plans to start relaxing lockdown rules.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to unveil his plans for looser restrictions in an address to the nation this Sunday at 7pm, when he is expected to tell the public they will no longer face strict rules on going outdoors or travelling to the countryside. 

But his opponents have poured cold water on the ambitious plans, saying it is too soon. And two thirds of the British public admit they are afraid of going too early.