Britain today recorded more than 100 coronavirus deaths for the first time in four months as officials announced 143 more victims.
Department of Health statistics show the grim milestone hadn’t been hit since June 17, when 110 lab-confirmed fatalities were added to the tally. For comparison, 76 deaths were registered last Tuesday as well as 50 yesterday — but counts on Mondays can be affected by a recording lag at weekends.
Separate data today revealed the number of deaths from Covid-19 in England and Wales has risen for the fourth week in a row, with the disease mentioned on 321 death certificates in the week ending October 2. But the same data, from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), shows only one person under the age of 30 has died since August.
Health chiefs today also posted another 17,234 cases, up 18.5 per cent on the figure recorded last Tuesday (14,542). Only 13,972 more positive tests were added to the tally yesterday.
It comes as a senior minister today admitted national rules will ‘probably’ have to get tougher after it was revealed Boris Johnson is at war with SAGE over demands for a ‘circuit-breaker’ lockdown for the whole of the UK.
Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick conceded the government is poised to ‘go further’ after the PM unveiled his new ‘Three Tier’ system of local restrictions last night — but only put Merseyside in the harshest category that will see pubs and bars shut.
Mr Jenrick pointed to high rates of infection in areas such as Greater Manchester and Nottingham, appealing for local leaders to agree terms to move up from Tier Two. But he dismissed claims that the government was not being ‘robust’ enough, after bombshell documents slipped out late last night showed its own scientific advisers wanted much more dramatic action.
The extraordinary spat emerged as Mr Johnson gathered his Cabinet for talks on the crisis, with infections threatening to spiral out of control again. Mr Johnson defiantly insisted at a No10 press conference last night that he had no intention of imposing a UK-wide squeeze that would ‘shatter’ the economy.
But within hours the minutes of a SAGE meeting from September 21 were released, showing that is exactly what the key group was suggesting. The timing of the dump by the government — which was out of line with the usual Friday publication schedule — sparked speculation that ministers were trying to bury the news.
In other developments to Britain’s Covid-19 outbreak today:
- Boris Johnson faced a growing Tory backlash against his three-tier coronavirus approach as he was accused of ignoring local government on the imposition of the new system and firing off ‘a constant blizzard of arbitrary rules’;
- Nicola Sturgeon trolled the Prime Minister over his extraordinary spat with SAGE, boasting that her ‘circuit breaker’ lockdown is ‘rooted in scientific advice’;
- London Mayor Sadiq Khan today warned it is ‘inevitable’ that London will be plunged into a Tier Two lockdown this week as he admits he wants every borough to face the same coronavirus restrictions;
- The number of UK redundancies has risen at its fastest rate since the 2008 financial crisis, as unemployment surges to 1.5million amid fears millions more will be on the dole queue by Christmas;
- Doctors will finally trial whether vitamin D can actually protect people from Covid-19 amid mounting evidence the 3p-a-day supplement could be a life-saver.
‘The trend in Covid-related deaths is starting to rise quickly which is hugely concerning,’ Dr Yvonne Doyle, Public Health England’s medical director said today.
‘We have seen cases increasing especially in older age groups which is leading to more hospital admissions. This is a stark reminder for us to follow the guidelines. Importantly, do not mix with others when unwell.
‘We must all do our part to help control the virus by following the restrictions in our areas, maintaining social distance, wearing a face covering in enclosed spaces and washing our hands regularly.’
The rising death toll comes amid warnings from the country’s chief scientists that the numbers of people being admitted to hospital and dying will continue to increase for weeks from now.
As cases continue to surge, which they have been doing for weeks, the linked number of admissions and fatalities will rise accordingly.
Deaths now will largely be coming from people who caught the virus three or four weeks ago, when there were an average of around 3,000 cases per day (September 13), compared to the current 14-15,000 per day.
Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, a deputy chief medical officer for England, said in a TV briefing this week: ‘As patients become ill with Covid-19, they don’t immediately go into hospital. And they don’t die in hospital the moment they arrive. Some, unfortunately, do die – but not instantly.
‘The point I’m trying to make here is that there is a lag between cases and when we see hospital admissions rise and when we see deaths rise.’
He added: ‘Hospital admissions we have now actually relate to a time when there were fewer cases of Covid-19, and what I’m trying to say here is that already, with the cases that we know about, we have baked in additional hospital admissions and, sadly, we also have baked in additional deaths that are now consequent upon infections that have already happened.’
NHS England today recorded the death of a 30-year-old patient, along with 86 others. The fatalities all happened in the last week, between October 6 and October 12, and 61 out of 87 were in the North of England.
Forty-one were recorded in the North West, 20 in the North East & Yorkshire, 13 in the Midlands, four in the South East, and three apiece in the South West, East of England and London.
Today’s worrying stats come amid a Government row over whether the UK should go into a short lockdown, which SAGE documents showed would be the most effective way to slow the second wave.
Tensions between Boris Johnson and his chief scientists are running high amid claims they wanted bombshell SAGE minutes calling for a ‘circuit breaker’ lockdown, which were published late last night, to be ‘out there’.
The extraordinary spat emerged hours after the PM unveiled his plan for ‘Three Tiers’ of local restrictions to tackle surging coronavirus cases last night.
At a No10 press conference, Mr Johnson defiantly insisted that he had no intention of imposing a UK-wide squeeze that would ‘shatter’ the economy.
But almost immediately the papers from a SAGE meeting from September 21 were released, showing that is exactly what the key group had been suggesting.
The timing of the dump on the gov.uk site – which was out of line with the usual Friday publication schedule – sparked speculation that ministers were trying to bury the news.
However, government sources dismissed the idea that the late-night revelation was a tactic, pointing out that the story has still dominated the headlines today. One suggested Patrick Vallance and Chris Whitty, who oversee SAGE, dictated the timing of the disclosure, saying: ‘They were keen to get it out there.’
Nicola Sturgeon waded into the row today by swiping that her ‘circuit breaker’ in Scotland was backed by scientific advice, and insisting ‘half-measures’ would not work.
Meanwhile, it has emerged that deputy chief medical officer Jonathan Van-Tam effectively disowned the 10pm pubs curfew ahead of a Commons showdown with Tories this evening.
During a briefing with MPs on the 10pm curfew yesterday Prof Van-Tam was pressed repeatedly for the scientific justification, and sources told MailOnline he said: ‘That was a policy decision not a scientific one.’
The wrangling came amid persistent rumours of infighting between Cabinet ‘hawks’ and ‘doves’. Matt Hancock, believed to be one of the hardest line ministers on the need for curbs, was notably kept off the airwaves yesterday, although he was working on the measures with local mayors.
Almost all of England, except for some parts of the Midlands and the North that already had tougher local rules, will keep the same social distancing rules that are in place nationally now. Liverpool (in red) will be the only area that faces the highest level of restrictions
