UK coronavirus death toll up 160 to 34,796
A further 160 people in the UK died from coronavirus yesterday, bringing the total to 34,796.
Yesterday’s amount of deaths was one of the lowest one-day total since the coronavirus lockdown began in March, however numbers on the weekend tend to be lower than on weekdays.
The UK’s official Covid-19 death toll is the highest in Europe.
Deputy chief medical officer Jonathan Van-Tam said at today’s press briefing that there was “a definite and sustained decrease in new cases, which is encouraging”.
The new figures come as health secretary Matt Hancock announced that everyone over the age of five with Covid-like symptoms was eligible for a test from today.
It was also announced today that loss of smell and taste had been made an official symptom of coronavirus.
Anyone who experiences loss of taste – independent of the other two symptoms of a new continuous cough or a fever – must self-isolate for seven days and their household must self-isolate for 14 days.
Speaking to MPs today, Hancock said: “Anyone [over the age of five] with a new continuous cough or a high temperature or the loss or change of sense of taste or smell can book a test by visiting nhs.uk/coronavirus.
“We will continue to prioritise access to tests for nhs and social care patients, residents and staff.”
Hancock also announced that 21,000 people had been recruited as “contact tracers” to administer the government’s “test and trace” programme.
The programme is thought to be a key tool for the UK to prevent a second peak of coronavirus infections as the lockdown is eased.
The health secretary said the 21,000 tracers provided “capacity for the current level of new cases demonstrated by the ONS surveys”.
However, the NHSX app that will be a part of the programme will not be ready until next month, despite Hancock earlier setting a target of mid-May.
“Today, I can confirm we have recruited over 21,000 contact tracers – this includes 7,500 healthcare professionals who will provide our core handlers with expert clinical advice,” he said.
“They will help manually trace the contacts of anyone who has had a positive test and advise them on whether they need to isolate.”
The UK now has capacity to administer more than 100,000 Covid-19 tests a day.
Yesterday, 100,678 tests were administered.