Britain records 15 more coronavirus deaths in the preliminary toll

Britain records 15 more coronavirus deaths in the preliminary toll — taking the official number of victims to 46,314

  • Department of Health chiefs have yet to confirm the final lab-confirmed figure, which is often much higher 
  • The early count is calculated by adding up the daily updates that are announced by each of the home nations 
  • NHS England declared 13 patients had died after testing positive for the virus in hospitals across the country
  • Wales recorded two in all settings but no Covid-19 fatalities were registered in Scotland or Northern Ireland 

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Britain today announced 15 more coronavirus deaths in the preliminary toll — taking the official number of victims to 46,314. 

Department of Health chiefs have yet to confirm the final daily figure, which is often much higher because it takes into account lab-confirmed fatalities in all settings. 

The early count — which only includes a fraction of the Covid-19 deaths in England — is calculated by adding up updates declared by each of the home nations.

NHS England today declared 13 victims in hospitals across the country. Wales recorded two in all settings. No fatalities were registered in Scotland or Northern Ireland. 

For comparison, 89 deaths were officially recorded yesterday and 83 were declared last Wednesday. Around 60 Brits are now succumbing to the life-threatening infection each day, on average.

In other developments today:

  • Aberdeen was put back into lockdown as Nicola Sturgeon revealed pubs, cafes and restaurants will be shut and people would be banned from travelling more than five miles from their homes;
  • Britain’s jobs bloodbath continued with hundreds of jobs axed at high street giants WH Smith and M&Co, meaning the number of workers facing redundancy as a result of the Covid crisis is now above 100,000;
  • One of Britain’s leading hair loss clinics reported a link between Covid-19 and hair loss after survivors complained the disease caused their locks to fall out in clumps three months after their battle;
  • France could lose control of its coronavirus outbreak at any time, according to the country’s top scientific body that warned a second wave was highly likely; 
  • Delaying quarantine measures at the border was a ‘serious mistake’ that allowed 10,000 infected people into the UK accelerated the virus spread, a major report by MPs warned.

The UK also recorded another 89 deaths, meaning 60 people are dying a day on average. Just nine deaths were recorded yesterday — but counts are always lower on Mondays because of a recording lag at weekends. For comparison, Government figures show 119 victims were announced last Tuesday

ABERDEEN IS PUT BACK INTO LOCKDOWN 

Aberdeen was today put back into lockdown as pubs, cafes and restaurants were shut and people were banned from travelling more than five miles from their homes.

Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said 54 infections have now been reported in the outbreak – double yesterday’s figure – and all indoor and outdoor hospitality venues were ordered to close by 5pm today.

She said the rise in cases heightens fears the Scottish Government is ‘dealing with a significant outbreak in Aberdeen that may include some community transmission’. Residents were told not to enter each other’s houses.

It comes a day after the Queen and Prince Philip landed at Aberdeen Airport where they were met by a driver and whisked off to the Balmoral estate, which is roughly an hour away. Their staff in Scotland have been quarantined for two weeks to minimise the Covid risk, and the couple are expected to stay there until early October.

The Aberdeen lockdown also comes just six days after parts of the North West of England were also put back under restrictions, with 4.5million people in Manchester facing £100 fines if they breach the rules.

 

Department of Health chiefs yesterday announced that another 670 people tested positive for the virus, taking the rolling seven-day average to 802. 

It was the first time the rate had been above 800 since July 2. For comparison, the rate was 697 last Tuesday and has been on the up for more than a fortnight amid growing fears of a resurgence.

Government statistics show the official size of the UK’s outbreak now stands at 306,293. But the actual size of the outbreak is estimated to be in the millions, based on antibody testing data.

The deaths 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.

And the figure 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 and Northern Ireland are out of sync.

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’.  

But the fatality curve is no longer flattening as quickly as it was, with the rolling seven-day average number of daily deaths having been in the sixties since July 18. 

It can take infected patients several weeks to die, meaning any spike in deaths won’t be immediately apparent in government figures.

Separate figures — released yesterday — revealed overall deaths in England and Wales are still below the number usually expected at this time of year, based on an average from the previous five years.

It comes as Aberdeen was today put back into lockdown as officials announced pubs, cafes and restaurants will shut and people will be banned from travelling more than five miles from their homes.

Large crowds of revellers gather outside Soul Bar on Union Street in Aberdeen city centre on Saturday evening

Large crowds of revellers gather outside Soul Bar on Union Street in Aberdeen city centre on Saturday evening

Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon ordered all indoor and outdoor hospitality venues to close by 5pm today because of a cluster of 54 cases.

She said the rise in cases heightens fears Scotland is ‘dealing with a significant outbreak in Aberdeen that may include some community transmission’. Residents were told not to enter each other’s houses.

It comes a day after the Queen and Prince Philip landed at Aberdeen Airport where they were met by a driver and whisked off to the Balmoral estate, which is roughly an hour away. 

Their staff in Scotland have been quarantined for a fortnight to minimise the Covid risk, and the couple are expected to stay there until early October.

The Aberdeen lockdown also comes just six days after parts of the North West of England were also put back under restrictions, with 4.5million people in Manchester facing £100 fines if they breach the rules.