UK coronavirus deaths rise by 36 to 43,550

Latest figures emerge as government considers local lockdown in Leicester after ‘flare-up’

A further 36 deaths from coronavirus have been reported across the UK, bringing the official total to 43,550.

The figure was a slight fall on the 43 recorded last Sunday – suggesting the outbreak continues to decline despite fears of a second wave.

Another 901 people tested positive for Covid-19 in the 24 hours up to 9am, according to the Department of Health and Social Care.

The latest figures emerged as the government considered whether to impose new lockdown restrictions in Leicester following a surge in cases.

Home Secretary Priti Patel confirmed the situation in the city was under review after 658 new cases of Covid-19 were recorded in the two weeks up to 16 June.

“We have seen flare-ups across the country already over recent weeks,” she told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show.

“Just in the last three or four weeks in particular, there was the example of a flare-up in one particular hospital over infection control.”

The government figures do not include all deaths involving Covid-19 across the UK, which are thought to have passed 54,000.

Overall, a total of 9,195,132 tests have been carried out and 311,151 cases have been confirmed positive.

Scotland reported no deaths for the third day in a row, prompting first minister Nicola Sturgeon to express her “sense of relief” mixed with anxiety.

There were two more deaths in Wales and one in Northern Ireland.

The global death toll neared 500,000 on Sunday, as the total number of cases worldwide passed 10 million.