Britain coronavirus deaths jump by record 563 in a day
LONDON: The coronavirus death toll in the UK has risen by 563 in the last 24 hours, a record jump that brought the number of patients who died in hospital to 2,352.
The announcement on Wednesday came as Spain recorded its highest daily death toll – another 864 people – while infections jumped to 102,136, up from 94,417. In the United States, the death toll has exceeded 4,000.
Meanwhile, Iran’s death toll exceeded 3,000 with 138 new fatalities as the the United Nations chief warned the pandemic is the “worst crisis” to face the world since World War II.
The first time the national toll has exceeded 500, bringing the total fatalities to 2,352, according to official figures. “As of 5pm (1600 GMT) on 31 March, of those hospitalised in the UK who tested positive for coronavirus, 2,352 have sadly died,” the health ministry said on its official Twitter page. Some 29,474 people have now tested positive, an increase of 4,324 over the previous day, it added.
Britain locked down last week in an attempt to combat the virus, but Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who himself has tested positive, warned that it would “get worse before it gets better”. The virus has also hit the royal family, with Prince Charles only coming out of isolation on Tuesday after displaying mild symptoms of the disease.
According to ALJZEERA the death toll in the United States from the new coronavirus outbreak has surpassed the official tally in China, with more than more 3,400 fatalities recorded, according to data collected by the Johns Hopkins University.
That means the US now has the third highest death toll after Italy and Spain, and the highest number of coronavirus cases in the world with more than 175,000.
Further restrictions on movement are being considered in the US to curb the spread of the virus, with the country now reporting twice the number of cases as China where the outbreak began late last year.
The United Kingdom and France each reported their biggest overnight jump in deaths since the start of the pandemic. Around the world, more than 820,000 people have been confirmed to have the virus, and at least 174,000 have recovered. More than 40,000 people have died.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that the world faces the most challenging crisis since World War II, confronting a pandemic threatening people in every country, one that will bring a recession “that probably has no parallel in the recent past.”
There is also a risk that the combination of the disease and its economic impact will contribute to “enhanced instability, enhanced unrest, and enhanced conflict,” the UN chief said at the launch of a report on the socioeconomic impacts of COVID-19.
(With Agency Inputs ).
