Britain today announced 55 more Covid-19 deaths in the lowest toll since before lockdown, as London recorded no new fatalities in hospitals for the first time since March and both Scotland and Northern Ireland saw no new victims for the second day in a row.
Department of Health bosses say the official number of victims now stands at 40,597 — but separate grim reports show the true number of coronavirus fatalities is actually thousands higher.
The daily Covid-19 death toll — the lowest since March 22 (35) — is half the 111 fatalities registered last Monday. Figures released on Sundays and Mondays are always much lower than those recorded throughout the rest of the week because of a delay in recording deaths at the weekend.
And the statistics do not always match the figures given by each of the home nations, who work to their own time cut-offs. NHS England today recorded 59 deaths in hospitals alone — including none in London for the first time since the crisis spiralled out of control in mid-March.
Government figures show no deaths were recorded in Scotland or Northern Ireland. But health officials in both of the nations have not registered a death in the last 48 hours. Health Secretary Matt Hancock today said the virus was in ‘retreat across the land’ and said strict measures to contain the outbreak were working.
It comes amid fears of a second wave of coronavirus were sparked today after thousands of Black Lives Matter protesters defied pleas from the government and took to the streets across Britain over the weekend. Leading infectious disease experts warned any mass gathering risks ‘significant numbers of further cases’.
In other coronavirus developments in Britain today:
- Boris Johnson has earmarked June 22 as the date when pubs and restaurants across the nation could be allowed to reopen, it was claimed;
- Tourists will be allowed to travel freely across the EU by mid-July, as the government plans to water-down its travel quarantine policy as quickly as possible;
- Passengers arriving at London Heathrow Airport criticised the UK’s new quarantine rules, claiming that they are unenforceable and will be difficult to police;
- Travellers ignored police advice and arrived at the site of Appleby horse fair even though Europe’s biggest gathering of gipsies has been cancelled this year;
- More than seven million people have now been infected with coronavirus across the world – and two in every three cases are in Europe and the US.
Department of Health data released this afternoon shows that 138,183 tests were carried out yesterday, including 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 since May 22.
Separate statistics released by the Department of Health showed 1,205 more people tested positive for Covid-19 — which was the fewest since lockdown. Just 967 people were diagnosed on March 23.
It means the official size of the UK’s coronavirus outbreak now sits at 287,399 cases. However, the true scale of the crisis is estimated to be in the millions.
The 77 Covid-19 deaths announced yesterday was around 32 per cent lower than the 113 recorded last Sunday. It was also down a similar amount from the Sunday two weeks ago (118 deaths).
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.
The data does not always match the updates provided by each of the home nations. For example, the Scottish government yesterday announced no new deaths and none today.
But the Department of Health has a different time cut-off, meaning the daily updates from Scotland as well as Northern Ireland – which has also gone two days without a death – are always out of sync.
NHS England said it was not true to say no coronavirus deaths occurred in London yesterday, saying that it was only true that none were recorded within the 24-hour period.
In the House of Commons this afternoon, Mr Hancock said the Government’s plans to open up the economy can proceed with ‘caution’ but that they will not allow a second peak of the virus.
He said: ‘This means that the number of new infections is expected to continue to fall. So, there are encouraging trends on all of these critical measures, coronavirus is in retreat across the land, our plan is working and these downward trends mean we can proceed with our plans. But we do so putting caution and safety first.
‘Even at the peak of this pandemic we protected the NHS and ensured that it was not overwhelmed, and we will not allow a second peak that overwhelms the NHS.’
Northern Ireland’s Deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill said she was really pleased to see a second day in a row where no deaths with coronavirus had been announced in Northern Ireland by the department of health.
She described it as a ‘positive situation’ but added they remain ‘cautious, careful and vigilant in the time ahead after the hard struggle which has been a hard struggle for everyone’.
Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon also said the coronavirus is ‘in retreat’, as she revealed there have been no new deaths from the disease for a second day in a row.
She welcomed the ‘very encouraging’ figures and said she is now ‘optimistic’ Scotland can move to the second phase of its four-part plan to ease out of lockdown when the restrictions are reviewed next week.
But she also struck a note of caution, warning the virus could still ‘roar back with a vengeance’ and told the most vulnerable Scots, who are in shielding, that the time frame for this is being extended.
It comes as it was claimed today that Boris Johnson has earmarked June 22 as the date when pubs and restaurants across the nation could finally be allowed to reopen.
The Prime Minister is believed to be keen to accelerate the easing of lockdown after he was warned prolonging the shutdown of the hospitality sector could cost more than three million jobs.
It is thought pubs and restaurants may be permitted to welcome back patrons in just two weeks’ time, although they will only be allowed to serve customers outdoors.
Downing Street’s current coronavirus lockdown exit strategy suggested that they would not be allowed to reopen until July 4 at the earliest. Number 10 has insisted that no firm date has been set.
But three separate Whitehall sources told the Financial Times that June 22 is the date being targeted in ministers’ diaries. The Cabinet is expected to discuss the move at a crunch meeting tomorrow.
It was also revealed today that tourists will be allowed to travel freely across the EU by the middle of July, as the government plans to water-down its travel quarantine policy as quickly as possible.
Mr Johnson wants to agree a cross-EU exemption, which would allow Britons to visit EU countries without having to isolate for 14 days, according to The Sun.
This comes after transport chiefs attacked the Government’s economically ‘devastating’ travel quarantine, which was implemented on Monday.
But government insiders say Mr Johnson wants the controversial policy, drawn up by his chief of staff Dominic Cummings, watered down as soon as possible.
Passengers arriving at London Heathrow Airport criticised the UK’s new quarantine rules today, claiming that they are unenforceable and will be difficult to police.
Under the new rules, which came into force today, all those arriving in Britain – including UK nationals – will be asked to provide an address where they will self-isolate for 14 days. Travellers can be fined £100 for failing to fill in a form with these details.
Mobility data shows Brits made less direction requests for journeys by car, foot or on public transport in the first week of June than they did at the end of May
Passengers on three flights different flights arriving at Heathrow from the US told MailOnline that they were asked to fill in an online form ahead of their journey, detailing where they will be staying.
Upon arrival, they were asked by immigration controllers the details they had provided on the form, but no specific checks were carried out to verify it.
Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary today said that air passengers arriving in Britain will simply ignore the new ‘rubbish’ quarantine rules as airlines launched a joint legal action.
British Airways, easyJet and Ryanair have all told ministers the scheme launched this morning is illegal because it is discriminatory, irrational and disproportionate.
Businesses have raised fresh concerns over how the plans will be enforced, with one group of 500 campaigning travel firms claiming it has ‘more holes than a sieve’.
Heathrow Airport chief John Holland-Kaye warned the scheme will hasten the loss of up to 25,000 jobs and hinder Britain’s ability ‘to fight for our place in the world’.
And Channel Tunnel boss Jacques Gounon said it had been fraught with problems due to its late introduction last week and accused Ministers of ‘intransigence’.
Separate data today appeared to suggest Britain is travelling less than it was a fortnight ago — despite draconian lockdown rules having been relaxed slightly with the peak of the Covid-19 outbreak having been and gone.
Mobility data showed Brits made less direction requests for journeys by car, foot or on public transport in the first week of June than they did at the end of May.
Apple, which compiled the figures – used by the government to track activity across the country, did not offer any explanation for what may be behind the slight downturn in travel rates across the UK.
Strict lockdown measures imposed in March to contain the coronavirus outbreak have already been eased slightly in the UK, allowing Britons to meet their family and friends for the first time in months.
Fears of a second wave of coronavirus were sparked today after thousands of Black Lives Matters protesters defied pleas from the government to not gather in groups and took to the streets across Britain over the weekend.
Leading infectious disease experts warned any mass gathering risks ‘significant numbers of further cases’, with the infection known to spread rapidly among tightly-packed crowds.
Professor Keith Neal, an epidemiologist at Nottingham University, told MailOnline the protests — prompted by the murder of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis — are ‘not going to help keep transmission down’.
Top scientists have already voiced concerns about Number 10’s plans to start easing lockdown, including allowing groups of up to six people to meet. They say the virus is still circulating at dangerous levels in the community.
Huge crowds like those which formed in London and Bristol over the weekend could be a fertile breeding ground for the coronavirus if people attending are carrying the bug, experts say.
Professor Neal, who has studied viruses such as SARS for three decades, said: ‘We will have to wait to see if one of the marches turns into a super-spreading event.’