Another 468 dead from coronavirus across UK as death toll passes 34,000 - Metro

At least 34,466 people have now died in the UK after contracting the respiratory disease (Picture: Getty)

Another 468 people have died from coronavirus in the UK, taking the death toll to 34,466, the Department of Health has confirmed.

The latest figures from the Government includes deaths in care homes and the wider community. They also include the 244 in UK hospitals reported earlier. NHS England announced 181 deaths, while 41 were recorded in Scottish hospitals, 18 were recorded in Wales and four were reported in Northern Ireland.

Today’s figures come amid a growing row between ministers and teaching unions about when schools should reopen to pupils. Unions oppose the plans, saying they puts teachers, students and their families at risk of catching the virus.

Elsewhere, NHS boss Sir Simon Stevens revealed coronavirus hospital admissions had halved in England since the peak of the pandemic and Prime Minister Boris Johnson ruled out a return to austerity in order to settle the spiralling costs of the crisis.

The latest figures

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Pressure on teaching unions has increased after the Children’s Commissioner for England called on the two sides to ‘stop squabbling’ and agree on a plan for a phased re-opening of primary schools from June 1.

Anne Longfield said she was in ‘despair’ at the increasingly entrenched positions being taken by the two sides, in which she said the interests of children were being ignored.

Union bosses held talks on Friday with Government scientific advisers amid concerns the PM was moving too quickly to ease the lockdown restrictions in England. But Patrick Roach, general secretary of the NASUWT union, said members had been left with ‘more questions than answers’.

He said teachers needed ‘unequivocal guidance’ from the Government that there would be ‘strong controls’ in place which would satisfy both teachers and parents that it was safe to return.

Cyclists ride along The Mall near Buckingham Palace following an easing of lockdown rules in England (Picture: AFP via Getty Images)

Primary schools remain closed while ministers and teaching unions discuss plans to reopen on June 1 (Picture: Geoffrey Swaine/Rex)

Mr Johnson last night told MPs he would take ‘grandmother’s footsteps’ towards lifting lockdown restrictions.

He also denied reports the Government will be freezing public sector workers’ pay as part of a string of measures to foot the coronavirus bill.

Writing in the Daily Mail on Saturday, NHS chief executive Sir Simon Stevens said that staff are treating around 9,000 patients a day as opposed to 19,000 a few weeks ago, while admissions have been falling by 2,000 each week.

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Although the health service had risen to the challenge during the crisis, he warned: ‘We are not out of the woods yet and have a difficult path ahead. Continued vigilance will be vital.’

The Government said the virus’s R number – which is the average number of people that will contract coronavirus from an infected person – has crept up to between 0.7 and 1.0.

This is a breaking news story, more to follow…

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2020-05-16 13:31:00Z
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