The UK now has 1,140 coronavirus cases (Picture: Rex/Getty)

Another 10 people have lost their lives to coronavirus in England, bringing the UK death toll to 21.

The death toll stood at 11 on Friday, meaning it has nearly doubled in 24 hours.

The number of cases of the deadly virus across the UK has also surged, with 1,140 now confirmed by the Department of Health – an increase of 342 since 2pm yesterday.

All of the patients who died in the past 24 hours were over 60 and a number of them had underlying health conditions, NHS England said. They were being cared for by nine trusts including Buckinghamshire, Sandwell & West Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Leicester, Barts, London, north Middlesex and Chester.


The UK has seen 342 new cases since 2pm yesterday.

A couple in a protective masks walk through Oxford Circus in London (Picture: EPA)

The World Health Organisation has said the UK needs to take more ‘action’ against the pandemic (Picture: EPA)

The news was confirmed by the UK government’s Chief Medical Adviser Chris Whitty, who assured the public the government was doing its best ‘to protect the most vulnerable’.



He said: ‘I am sorry to confirm 10 further patients who have tested positive for Covid-19 in England have died. All 10 individuals were in the at risk groups. I understand this increase in the number of deaths linked to Covid-19 will be a cause for concern for many.

‘The public should know every measure we are taking is seeking to save lives and protect the most vulnerable. Every single one of us has a role to play in achieving this. If you have a new continuous cough or high temperature, please stay at home for seven days.

‘I also encourage everyone to be washing their hands for 20 seconds regularly. I offer my sincere condolences to the families and friends who have received this difficult news. I ask that their privacy is respected at this time.’

It comes as the World Health Organisation warns Britain needs to take more ‘action’ against the deadly bug.

Casting doubt on the UK’s approach to developing ‘herd immunity’ against Covid-19, WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris said scientists do not know enough about the virus to say whether ‘theories’ around people becoming immune to it are correct.

A newborn baby became the youngest person to test positive yesterday after the mother was reportedly rushed to North Middlesex Hospital in the borough of Enfield with suspected pneumonia days earlier.

The new mum reportedly learned of her diagnosis straight after giving birth and has now been separated from her child as they are both treated.

All Jet2 flights from the UK to Spain were cancelled this morning, as the number of coronavirus cases in the southwestern European country rose by 1,500 in 24 hours.

Planes were forced to turn back in mid-air as the budget airline’s flights from Britain to mainland Spain, the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands were stopped ‘with immediate effect’, with the Spanish infected toll soaring to more than 5,700.

On Thursday, the UK government’s top scientist warned that up to 10,000 people in the UK are likely already infected.

In the same press conference, Boris Johnson called coronavirus ‘the worst public health crisis for a generation’, warning that many British families would ‘lose loved ones before their time’.

Boris Johnson spoke about the status of the coronavirus outbreak in the UK on Thursday (Picture: EPA)

Heathrow Airport this morning with the longest queues seen for over a week as people panic to get back to the US before a European flight ban is enforced by the American government (Picture: w8media)

The prime minister claimed it was too early to ‘maximise the benefit’ of banning mass gatherings – but 24 hours later, new plans to stop public gatherings such as concerts and sports matches were said to be in the works.



The new measures would see Britain follow in the footsteps of several countries affected by the airborne flu-like illness including Denmark, Italy, Switzerland and France.

Donald Trump officially declared the coronavirus to be a national emergency in America on Friday, which will free up to $50 billion to fight the pandemic.

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The US president has admitted he may be forced to add the UK to the list of European countries facing a travel ban to the US.

He said: ‘We are looking at it based on the new numbers that are coming out and we may have to include them in the list of countries that we will, you could say ban or whatever it is, during this period of time, but yeah their numbers have gone up fairly precipitously over the last 24 hours so we may be adding that and we may be adding a couple of others and we may frankly start thinking about taking some off.’

Meanwhile, Downing Street has insisted the Brexit transition period will not be extended amid the outbreak.

A spokesperson for Mr Johnson rejected the idea on Friday at a Westminster briefing, saying: ‘No. In UK law, a request for an extension is not possible.’

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