UK coronavirus official death toll rises by 359 to 39,728

But true figure above 50,000, according to authorities in the four nations

The UK death toll from coronavirus has risen by 359 in the past 24 hours, to 39,728, the government has announced.

A 12-year-old child is among the latest victims, according to NHS England.

The official death figure is from the Department of Health and Social Care. However, if death numbers from separate authorities in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are added together, the grim toll surpasses 50,000.

Labour MP Richard Burgon said: “Our government is behaving so recklessly that many more will lose their lives.”

It's also feared the rate of infection is higher than the official figure.

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The government’s chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance said there could be 8,000 new cases of Covid-19 a day in the UK.

While the latest figures showed more than 1,800 a day had tested positive, data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) suggested the true figure of new infections was significantly higher.

Sir Patrick said the R number – the rate of transmission – was still close to 1, which meant the numbers were not coming down quickly.

“We have relatively large numbers still not coming down fast. That gives relatively little room for manoeuvre. We have to tread very cautiously,” he warned.

He said the number of deaths was also coming down “but it is not coming down as fast as we would like it to come down”.

The UK has the highest coronavirus death toll in Europe, data from the ONS show.

Chief medical officer for England Professor Chris Whitty said it was the “unanimous view” of the UK’s four chief medical officers that the coronavirus alert level should remain at four.

In the 24-hour period up to 9am on Wednesday, 171,829 tests were carried out or dispatched with 1,871 positive results, the Department of Health said.

Boris Johnson has renewed calls for anyone with symptoms of Covid-19 to book a test, saying there was plenty of capacity in the system.

The prime minister also urged the public not to start gathering indoors if it rains, warning that such gatherings could undermine the progress made by the lockdown.

He said: “We are seeing continuous falls in the disease, in deaths, in incidence, and that’s why we’ve been able to take the very cautious steps that we have.”