A further 1,009 coronavirus infections were reported on Wednesday taking the total number of confirmed cases to 313,798. The jump has stoked fears of a second peak in Britain as parts of Europe are facing spikes.
The new cases come as a review of how coronavirus deaths are calculated in England has reduced the UK’s death toll by more than 5,000 to 41,329.
The Department of Health’s daily figures represent the number of reported deaths in all settings of people who have tested positive for coronavirus.
Previously anyone who died who had ever tested positive for coronavirus was included – even if they had passed away from something else.
From now on, deaths that have occurred within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test will be included.
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7.40am update: 3.4m people in England have had coronavirus, study suggests
Some 3.4 million people in England have been infected with coronavirus, a new study suggests.
The study involved more than 100,000 volunteers using a finger-prick home test to find antibodies for the virus and was carried out by Imperial College London.
The research suggested 6 percent of England’s population had already been infected with coronavirus by July 13.
7.30am update: India coronavirus cases jump by 67,000 in new daily record
India has reported 66,999 further coronavirus cases in a record daily rise taking the total number of confirmed infections to 2.4 million, the country’s health ministry said.
The death toll from the virus has passed 47,000.
7.25am update: UK coronavirus outbreak ‘widely dispersed’ from start
The coronavirus outbreak in the UK appears to have been “widely dispersed” from the start, one of the scientists leading a study into the prevalence of the deadly virus has said.
The first patient to die with coronavirus in Britain was recorded on March 5, when it was thought there were only 90 cases in the UK.
Helen Ward, from Imperial College London, told BBC Breakfast: “What was interesting (about the study) is that we can tell from people who reported not only having a positive test, but we also asked about their symptoms so we can actually track for most people – the 70 percent of people who reported symptoms – when they think they were infected.
“And it did start in January, February, and actually it started right across the country, so you can’t say that it started in London and spread out. Right from the beginning it was widely dispersed.”
