381 deaths on our darkest day so far

1,789 lives lost as toll rockets but NHS chief vows ‘green shoots’ on way

NEARLY 400 patients died from coronavirus in just 24 hours on the darkest day since the contagion reached Britain.

The death toll yesterday leapt from 1,408 to 1,789 – by far the biggest daily rise.

Michael Gove admitted the figures were shocking. ‘Sadly yesterday we recorded the highest single increase in the number of deaths as a result of Covid-19,’ the Cabinet Secretary told a virus press conference.

‘Every death is the loss of a loved one. Our thoughts and prayers are with those grieving.’

Latest victims in London include a 19-yearold Italian chef who had no health conditions. The 381 deaths were more than double the previous day’s 180. The toll is accelerating at a similar rate to Italy two weeks ago and more rapidly than in China at the same stage.

Data from the Office for National Statistics suggest the UK figures could be 25 per cent too low. This is because victims in care homes or at home are not in the daily NHS updates, which cover only hospitals.

NHS England’s medical director, Steven Powis, said there were encouraging signs even if we were ‘very much still in the woods’.

The professor added: ‘Those green shoots will take a while to translate into reduction in hospital admissions and deaths. We will see a reduction in the number of infections first, followed by a reduction in the number of hospitalisations probably a week or two later. And then finally, a reduction in the number of deaths.

‘So I expect that we will see a rise in deaths, because that is the measure that unfortunately, we will turn around last.’

Professor Powis insisted social distancing was vital and movement restrictions could not be lifted. He said London was ahead of the rest of the country in the spread of the contagion and accounted for a third of hospital admissions.

The ONS yesterday released ‘the most accurate and complete’ compilation of deaths from Covid-19. Its weekly report for England and Wales found 210 virus- related fatalities up to and including

March 20 compared with the 170 reported by the NHS.

The contagion’s surge since then suggests that hundreds more will have died outside hospitals. Three quarters of the deaths were in the over-75s, with men accounting for 59 per cent.

The NHS figures include the chef, who is thought to be Luca di Nicola. His family say he was very healthy but died in the intensive care unit at the North Middlesex Hospital after collapsing at home with pneumonia.

Dr Jenny Harries, the deputy chief medical officer, said it should serve as a warning. ‘Young people are not generally having severe illness, but can be infected,’ she added.

‘Because when you’re younger you tend not to think of death, dying, it is easy perhaps to not think of yourself as part of the risk. They are really sad reminders that it doesn’t matter what age you are, you should be staying at home and observing all the social distancing measures.’

Scientists warned that while the death toll will continue to rise the overall trend was the key.

Dr Simon Clarke, associate professor in cellular microbiology at the University of Reading, said: ‘There will be days when the figures are comparatively low, but there will also be days when we see distressingly large increases.

‘It’s therefore important to look at trends over a number of consecutive days, rather than draw conclusions from any single day.’

The UK has the seventh highest death toll, with Italy at the top.

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