UK coronavirus hospital deaths reach 10,612 after 737 die over 24 hours

'Today marks a sombre day in the impact of this disease,' says health secretary

A total of 10,612 UK patients with coronavirus have died in hospital, after 737 more deaths were recorded in 24 hours, officials have announced.

Health secretary Matt Hancock said the grim milestone made it a “sombre day’’.

The Department of Health figures, which cover 5pm Friday to 5pm Saturday, do not include deaths in care homes or outside hospitals.

NHS England said a further 657 people had died in hospital in England alone, bringing the total deaths there to 9,594.

Patients were aged between 26 and 100, and 42 of the 657 (aged between 30 and 98) had no known other health condition. Their families have been informed, officials said.

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The Scottish government said another 24 people with coronavirus there had died, taking the total number of confirmed deaths north of the border to 566.

Public Health Wales said 18 more deaths had been reported, taking the Welsh tally to 369.

In Northern Ireland, the total number of people with the virus who have died in hospital has risen to 118, after 11 further deaths were reported.

The figures from the four nations bring the UK total to 10,647 – but they cover a different time period from the Department of Health’s 5pm-to-5pm tally.

Mr Hancock said: “Today marks a sombre day in the impact of this disease as we join the list of countries who have seen more than 10,000 deaths related to coronavirus.

“The fact that over 10,000 people have now lost their lives to this invisible killer demonstrates just how serious this coronavirus is and why the national effort that everyone is engaged in is so important.”

Of the 657 new hospital deaths announced in England on Sunday, 121 happened on Saturday, while 531 took place between 1 April 1 and 10 April.

The other five deaths were between 26 and 31 March.

NHS England’s daily new figures often include deaths that took place several days or even weeks earlier, because of the time it takes for deaths to be confirmed as testing positive for Covid-19; for post-mortem tests to be processed, and for data from the tests to be validated.

The new English figures show that Wednesday currently had the highest total for the most hospital deaths in a single day – 709 – although this could change in future updates.

Scottish officials say the nation’s figures are likely to be an underestimate and lower because fewer deaths are recorded at weekends.

A medical adviser to the government has warned the UK could become Europe’s hardest hit country for deaths.

Italy currently has the highest official death toll, at nearly 20,000, with Spain lagging not far behind.

University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust has had more than 400 deaths, the highest number for any trust in England.

Mr Hancock said the NHS was increasing capacity for critical care beds, adding: “The latest figures show that in Great Britain we have 2,295 spare critical care beds, up 150 from yesterday.

“At the start of this crisis, people said that the NHS would be overwhelmed, and we’ve seen that and we’ve seen the risk of that elsewhere but not here.

“There is more spare capacity now for critical care than there was when coronavirus first hit our shores.”

Nearly 1.8 million cases of Covid-19 have been recorded around the world, and more than 110,000 people have died, according to Johns Hopkins University’s official figures.