Thirty-two more people have died in England after testing positive for coronavirus - taking the total number of UK deaths to 104.

It follows the biggest daily leap in confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the UK after 676 infections were diagnosed in the last 24 hours.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the UK now stands at 2,626.

Ninety-nine patients diagnosed with COVID-19 in England have now died.

The latest 32 patients to die were aged between 59 and 94 and had underlying health conditions, NHS England said.


The youngest person to die in the UK after testing positive for coronavirus has been named as 45-year-old Craig Rushton, from Kettering, who had been fighting motor neurone disease.

Image: Craig Ruston died aged 45 after testing positive for COVID-19

Nearly a third of the new deaths in England (10) were at hospitals in London - the worst-affected part of the UK.

Earlier, the death of a third patient with COVID-19 in Scotland was confirmed.

Two people with the virus have died in Wales so far.

In other developments in the spread of coronavirus in the UK:

All schools in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are to close from Friday in response to the pandemic

from Friday in response to the pandemic A "radical" money printing plan is being considered by the Bank of England, its new governor tells Sky News

This year's Glastonbury festival and the Eurovision Song Contest have been cancelled

and the Eurovision Song Contest have been cancelled Major supermarket chains including Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda and Morrisons have enforced new rules to stop panic buying

to stop panic buying An inmate at HMP Manchester has tested positive for COVID-19 - the first confirmed UK prisoner case

The Foreign Office has urged British holidaymakers to leave Spain as soon as possible as all hotels will close there from Tuesday

Filming on EastEnders and other BBC dramas Casualty, Doctors and Holby City has been suspended until further notice

and other BBC dramas Casualty, Doctors and Holby City has been suspended until further notice Princess Beatrice has cancelled her planned wedding reception because of coronavirus

Coronavirus: Central London deserted

More than 200,000 cases have been confirmed worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University, which is monitoring the outbreak.

The government's chief scientific adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance, has suggested there could be as many as 55,000 coronavirus cases already in the UK and 20,000 deaths or below would be a "good outcome".

As of 9am on Wednesday, 56,221 people had been tested for the virus in the UK, of which 53,595 were negative.

'It's an emergency' - BoE governor on virus

There are now 227 confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 across Scotland, while the number of confirmed cases in Northern Ireland has risen by six to 68.

In Wales, a further 13 people have been diagnosed with the virus, bringing the total number of confirmed cases there to 149.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a significant escalation of UK measures in response to coronavirus earlier this week, including advising everyone in the country to avoid pubs, clubs, restaurants and theatres and to only make essential journeys.

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