UK coronavirus death toll rises by 155 to 43,730

The true figure is thought to be more than 54,000

The UK death toll from coronavirus has risen by 155 in 24 hours to 43,730, the government said.

It marked a slight improvement on the figure of 171 last Tuesday, suggesting the outbreak is still in decline overall across the country.

However the true number of total deaths from Covid-19 is thought to be more than 54,000, based on a comparison with the average over the past five years.

A further 669 people tested positive yesterday, bringing the total to 312,654, according to the Department of Health and Social Care.

The figures were released as Leicester began its first day under a local lockdown, with retail shops closing again following a surge in the number of cases.

Schools in parts of the city will also close again on Thursday and residents were told to stay at home and avoid non-essential travel.

Health secretary Matt Hancock denied he had acted too slowly in imposing the fresh restrictions after accepting he had been first alerted to the spike 11 days ago.

He said targeted measures such as ramping up testing and closing some schools had failed to prevent the virus spreading in the community.

The city council said that 944 Covid-19 cases had been reported in the last two weeks.

Mr Hancock added: “We are still doing the work to understand exactly why the outbreak has been so bad in Leicester.”

Meanwhile the rest of England is set to see a reopening of bars, restaurants, cinemas, hotels, museums and churches on 4 July.