UK coronavirus deaths rise by 55 – lowest daily toll since lockdown began

Scotland has recorded no new fatalities for two days running

The UK has logged its lowest daily rise in the coronavirus death toll since lockdown was imposed in March.

The Department of Health said a further 55 people had died as of 5pm on Sunday, taking the pandemic’s overall toll in Britain to 40,597 – the second-worst figure in the world, behind the US. Some 287,399 people in the UK have now tested positive for the disease.

There is often a lag in the reporting of deaths over a weekend, however, and the government figures do not include all deaths involving Covid-19 across the UK. The true overall total is thought to have passed 50,000.

In Scotland, no new fatalities were recorded for the second day in a row, leading Nicola Sturgeon to claim that Covid-19 was “in retreat” north of the border.

Speaking at a briefing in Edinburgh, the first minister added: “We must still exercise caution. We know from previous weeks that fewer deaths tend to be registered at weekends, so it is still highly likely that more Covid deaths will be recorded in the days ahead.”

Her note of caution is reflected by the relatively slow speed at which Scotland has eased its lockdown measures, compared with England where schools are already reopening. A review will take place next week, with Ms Sturgeon “hopeful” that restrictions can be partly lifted if the suppression of the coronavirus continues.

Households would then be able to meet indoors, while pubs and restaurants could open outdoor spaces, and marriages and civil partnerships could take place with a minimal number of attendees.

In Westminster, the government is pushing ahead with a controversial measure, which came into force on Monday, that it hopes will help to prevent a second wave of infections – the new 14-day quarantine for travellers arriving in Britain. They face a £1,000 fine in England if they do not comply.

The quarantine plan, which has been vehemently opposed by travel companies, follows criticism that ministers were too slow to implement lockdown in the first place and are being too hasty in lifting it now. By their own measure, the UK’s risk level sits at four on a scale from one to five – but since last week, ministers have argued that a separate set of tests should govern how restrictions are lifted.

On Monday, Boris Johnson’s official spokesperson was asked whether further easing of lockdown restrictions required a change in the alert level. They said: “No, it is linked to our five tests. What the alert centre allows us to do is build up a detailed surveillance picture. The health secretary said yesterday that the alert level was moving downwards.”