UK coronavirus death toll rises by 377 to 37,837

Figures come as prime minister announces new lockdown easing measures

Some 37,837 people have died in hospitals, care homes and the wider community after testing positive for coronavirus in the UK as of 5pm on Wednesday, up by 377 from 37,460 the day before, the Department of Health has said.

In the 24-hour period up to 9am on Thursday, 119,587 tests were carried out or dispatched with 1,887 positive results.

The figure for the number of people tested has been “temporarily paused to ensure consistent reporting” across all methods of testing.

Overall a total of 3,918,079 tests have been carried out and 269,127 cases have been confirmed positive.

The new figures came as Boris Johnson announced a number of lockdown measures would be eased, with groups of six allowed to meet outdoors in England if they keep their distance.

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The prime minister confirmed that all five tests required for the next phase of lockdown easing to begin have been met, adding: “The result is we can moved forward with adjusting the lockdown on Monday.’’

Sir Patrick Vallance, the chief scientific adviser, warned that in some places the R rate of infection was close to 1.0. Great caution was required, he said.

The government’s test and trace system system – plagued by problems on its launch on Thursday – is designed to make lockdown easing possible by allowing the government to sequester local outbreaks as they happen.