The man in his 50s had underlying health conditions (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

A man in his late-fifties has died after testing positive for Covid-19.

The man had underlying health conditions and was being treated at the Bristol Royal Infirmary. He was one of 14 more people to die in just 24 hours as the coronavirus death toll in the UK hit 35.

The number of confirmed cases of coronavirus jumped by 232 to a total of 1,372.

In a statement, University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust said: ‘Sadly, we can confirm that a man who was being cared for at the Bristol Royal Infirmary, and had tested positive for Covid-19, has died.


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The man passed away at Bristol Royal Infirmary after contracting Covi-19 (Picture: PA)

‘The patient who died was in his late-fifties and had underlying health conditions. The family has been informed and our thoughts are with them at this difficult time.



‘We will not be commenting further and ask that everybody respects the family’s privacy.’

This latest death comes as it emerged elderly people will be asked to self-isolate for up to four months to protect them from Covid-19.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said it is a ‘very big ask’, but it is a measure which is for their own ‘self-protection’.

He also confirmed that ministers were seeking to give police powers to arrest and forcibly quarantine people who are sick with the virus but are not self-isolating.

‘We are going to take the powers to make sure that we can quarantine people if they are a risk to public health, yes, and that’s important,’ he told the BBC.

People wear medical masks as a precaution against coronavirus in central London (Picture: Ilyas Tayfun Salci/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

‘I doubt that actually we will need to use it much, because people have been very responsible.’

In an acknowledgement of the almost wartime measures being introduced, Mr Hancock said the steps are ‘very, very significant and they will disrupt the ordinary lives of almost everybody in the country’.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is to personally urge manufacturers to shift their production lines to build ventilators, as the NHS prepares for a significant increase in cases of Covid-19.

Mr Hancock said: ‘The thing the NHS needs now more than anything else is more ventilators. We’ve been buying as many as we can but we need to produce more too.’

He said he could not make guarantees that everyone who requires a ventilator will get one, saying: ‘We don’t make guarantees in healthcare.’

The Health Secretary said a Bill setting out emergency powers to deal with the outbreak will be published on Thursday, and details of what the powers will include will be shared on Tuesday.

Mr Hancock said ministers are yet to make a decision on whether to ban gatherings of over 500 people in the rest of the UK, after Scotland said it would bring in restrictions from Monday.

‘We are absolutely ready to do that as necessary,’ he said, but he pointed towards a Cobra meeting being held on Monday when asked when the decision will be made.

What does self-isolation mean? Self-isolation means staying indoors and avoiding all contact with other people for 14 days, according to the NHS. It means no going to work, school, the shops or even to the park for some fresh air, in order to minimise the risk of passing on Covid-19. Public transport and taxis are a no-no and you shouldn’t have visitors over, even if you just stay at home. Anyone in self-isolation is advised to ask friends, family and delivery drivers to pick things up for you and drop them-off. You should put a sign outside telling people you are self-isolating and everything should be left on the floor outside your front door to avoid the risk of further infections. You should leave a sign outside your property if you have to self-isolate (Picture: PA)

Those who are self-isolating are still advised to stay away from their pets as much as possible and to wash their hands before and after touching them. If you live in a house share and have to self-isolate, the advice is to stay in your room with the door closed and only emerge to use communal kitchens, bathrooms and living areas if absolutely necessary. Who should self-isolate? The government advises anyone returning from Category 1 areas (Hubei, Iran, Italy and Daegu or Cheongdo in South Korea), to go straight home and self-isolate, even if they don't display any symptoms. Travellers should use the 111 online coronavirus service to find out what to do next. Anyone returning from Category 2 areas should self-isolate and call 111 if they have Covid-19 symptoms. You can find the list of those places here.

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