Two more people have died in the UK after testing positive for coronavirus, bringing the total to eight.

A patient aged in their 70s, who had underlying health conditions, died in Dudley in the West Midlands after contracting COVID-19, the prevalent strain of coronavirus.

And an elderly patient from Nuneaton, who was being treated for a number of serious underlying health conditions, lost their life at the George Eliot Hospital in Warwickshire.

It comes as the number of people with coronavirus in the UK has risen to 460 after a further 87 tested positive for the disease in the last 24 hours.

The figure is the biggest daily increase so far in coronavirus cases in the UK.


Diane Wake, chief executive of the Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust, said: "The trust can confirm that a patient in their 70s being treated for underlying health conditions has died. The patient had tested positive for COVID-19."

Dr Catherine Free, medical director at George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust, said: "The trust can confirm that an elderly patient being treated for a number of serious underlying health conditions has died. The patient had tested positive

for COVID-19."

Two British people have died after contracting the illness outside of the UK, with one of them dying in Indonesia and the other in Japan.

A drive-through coronavirus test site has opened in Wolverhampton to allow members of the public to check if they have the disease.

The NHS in England is set to "ramp up" facilities nationwide so 10,000 tests can be done on a daily basis.

The chancellor has told British people fearful of the coronavirus that "we will get through this together".

Rishi Sunak used his budget to unveil a £30bn stimulus for the UK as it prepares to be hit by the worldwide impact of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

This included a business rates holiday for some companies. It came after health minister Nadine Dorries tested positive for the coronavirus and a member of her staff fell ill.

Coronavirus: Chancellor pledges unlimited funding for NHS

Ms Dorries is self-isolating at home and has appealed to fellow MPs to get in touch if they have recently been in contact with her, Sky News understands.

She is the first MP in the UK to be diagnosed with COVID-19.

Image: Health minister Nadine Dorries has tested positive for the coronavirus and a member of her staff is ill

Labour's Rachael Maskell revealed she had been advised by the NHS 111 helpline to self-isolate following a meeting with Ms Dorries last Thursday, even though she is displaying no symptoms of COVID-19.

She told Sky News she would continue her work as an MP by holding meetings over the phone, adding: "This will become a norm over the coming weeks and days as we are seeing more people being diagnosed with coronavirus."

Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said he does not need to be tested for COVID-19, because he did not see Ms Dorries "in the period she was ill".

He confirmed parliament will not close but admitted the Commons "may have to function differently".

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Mr Hancock insisted MPs' ability to create new laws to tackle the outbreak and scrutinise the government was "vital".

"Our democracy is the foundation of our way of life," he said.

But some staffers remain unhappy, with one telling Sky News that the general mood is of "frustration" and it "doesn't look like anyone is taking any leadership in the Commons".

Mr Hancock also revealed England's chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty told him it is "highly likely that once people have got it and recovered then they're going to be okay" and not contract the virus again within a year.

'Thousands will be infected in UK'

Meanwhile, a study suggests people who have contracted the coronavirus are at their most contagious early after becoming infected and potentially before displaying symptoms.

Scientists in Berlin and Munich conducted the study, which is still awaiting peer review, by analysing clinical data from patients who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 and checking them with throat swabs.