UK: COVID-19 death toll rises 15 to 42,647

The UK’s official coronavirus death toll has risen by 15 in 24 hours to 42,647, Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) figures show.

That represents the lowest number of new fatalities announced since 15 March, more than a week before the full lockdown was announced. However, far fewer deaths are typically announced on Sunday and Monday due to a lack of reporting on weekends.

The government’s tally only accounts for those who have tested positive for COVID-19. The latest Office for National Statistics figures, which includes all fatalities in which Covid-19 is on the death certificate, suggests the exact toll is above 53,000.

In the 24 hours up to 9 am on Monday, 139,659 tests were sent out, with 958 positive results, the daily DHSC figures showed, bringing the total number of known cases to 305,289.

The figure for the actual number of people tested remains “temporarily paused to ensure consistent reporting” across all methods of testing after nearly a month.