UK passes Italy in confirmed virus deaths
LONDON — Britain now has Europe’s highest official coronavirus death toll in absolute numbers after the latest round of daily figures Tuesday showed it overtaking Italy. Only the United States has recorded more virus-related deaths.
The British government said 693 more people died in hospitals, nursing homes and other settings after testing positive for COVID-19, taking the total to 29,427 — above Italy’s 29,315.
Though the U.K.’s coronavirus-related death toll, when measured on a sevenday rolling basis, has been falling consistently for the past three to four weeks, the country is around two weeks behind Italy in terms of the pandemic. The tallies are likely underestimates because they do not include suspected coronavirus deaths.
Taking into account countries’ populations, the U.K.’s death rate is below those in Italy, Spain and Belgium.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the number of deaths was a “massive tragedy” but added that it was too soon to make reliable international comparisons, partly because of apparent differences in the way countries report deaths.
Regardless of how deaths are recorded, the trends in most of the virus-related numbers in the U.K., such as the number of people requiring hospitalization with coronavirus, are heading in the right direction — but not enough to prompt the government to ease the lockdown, in place since March 23, when it is reviewed Thursday.
Government advisers have voiced worries about the number of new cases still being recorded.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has recovered from COVID-19 himself, has warned of a second spike in the epidemic and that the U.K. is at the moment of “maximum risk.”