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One in eight Britons have lost a close friend or family member to Covid-19

Poll comes as UK coronavirus deaths pass 100,000

Samuel Osborne
Wednesday 27 January 2021 20:55 GMT
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Nurses working in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in St George's Hospital in Tooting, south-west London
Nurses working in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in St George's Hospital in Tooting, south-west London (Victoria Jones/PA)

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One in eight britons have lost a close friend or family member to Covid-19, a poll has revealed.

YouGov found eight per cent of people had lost a close friend, while five per cent reported they had lost a family member.

More than a quarter (27 per cent) knew someone who had become seriously ill from Covid-19, with two per cent saying they themselves had been very unwell.

More than half (57 per cent) said they knew someone who had tested positive for the virus.

It came after Boris Johnson insisted he took “full responsibility” for the response to the pandemic as the government’s figure for coronavirus deaths passed 100,000. Separate data, published by statistics agencies, places the toll at 115,000.

The YouGov survey was taken by 2,029 people in the UK between 31 December last year and January 11.

This month marks the first anniversary of the earliest known death involving Covid-19 in the UK.

A scientist advising the government has warned the country could see a further 50,000 deaths from the virus.

Professor Calum Semple, who sits on the government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), predicted there could be another 50,000 deaths from coronavirus.

Prof Semple also warned that every Covid-19 fatality "represents probably four or five people who survive but are damaged" by the disease.

Data from John Hopkins University shows 100 million people around the world have been infected by the virus.

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