Coronavirus: UK death toll rises by 113 to hit 38,489
A further 113 people have died of coronavirus in the UK, the Department of Health announced this afternoon.
In total, that means as of 5pm yesterday, 38,489 people have been killed by the disease in this country.
A further 1,936 people have tested positive for the disease, taking the total number of positive cases to 274,762.
Although this is the first time the number of positive cases has fallen below 2,000 in a long time, it must be remembered that there tends to be a lag with the reporting of figures over the weekend.
The government carried out 115,725 tests on Saturday, which means that over 4.2m people have now been tested.
The Department of Health also announced that it had reached its target of developing the capacity to carry out 200,000 tests by the end of May a day early.
Just over 205,000 tests were available, it said, although only nearly 116,000 were actually carried out.
It also said the UK now has the capacity to carry out 40,000 antibody tests a day.
The updated figures came as the government prepared to loosen some of the lockdown restrictions tomorrow, with people in England to be allowed to meet outside in groups of up to six.
In addition, the 2.2m people who have been “shielding” due to being deemed extremely vulnerable to the disease will be allowed to go outside for the first time in 10 weeks.
Housing secretary Robert Jenrick announced the changes this afternoon, although some health experts had warned that the government was moving too fast to lift measures.
According to the Office of National Statistics, the actual number of people still being infected every day could be as high as 8,000.
Jenrick added that for every review of lockdown measures taken for the general public, an accompanying review for those shielding would be carried out.
The next review is set for the week of the 15 June.
More to follow.