Another 888 patients have died in hospitals in the UK after testing positive for coronavirus.

The Department of Health announced the latest increase which takes the total death toll from COVID-19 to 15,464, the fifth highest in the world.

Some 150,000 people have died worldwide.

The number of tests for the virus that have taken place is now 460,437, although this includes some people being tested more than once.

There have now been 114,217 positive tests in the UK.


Health authorities in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland also record their own daily figures, which may not tally with the government's total as they collate their numbers at different times throughout the day.

NHS England announced a further 784 deaths, taking the country's total to 13,918.

The patients were aged between 26 and 100 years old and 38 of them (aged between 44 and 96) had no known underlying health condition.

Scotland saw a further 56 deaths, Wales 28 and Northern Ireland 17.

According to each home nation's health authorities, the number of deaths in hospitals now stands at:

England - 13,918

Scotland - 893

Wales - 534

Northern Ireland - 193

It comes as NHS Providers, which represents hospital trusts, warned some will run out of fully protective gowns within the next 24 to 48 hours.

At least 50 NHS workers have now died after contracting coronavirus.

Meanwhile, the Queen has asked that there be no gun salutes to mark her birthday as it would be "inappropriate in the current circumstances".

Buckingham Palace said the Queen did not want any special measures in place to allow gun salutes when she turns 94 on Tuesday.

Gun salutes, in which blank rounds are fired from around London, are typically used by the Royal Family to mark special occasions such as anniversaries and birthdays.