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Watford Observer

More than 20,000 Covid-19 deaths in UK - recap

Summary

Coronavirus updates from Hertfordshire and UK recap

By Nathan Louis

Our live feed has now finished.

  • The number of patients in UK hospitals who tested positive for coronavirus and have sadly died has passed the 20,000 mark.
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  • Department of Health figures show 20,319 Covid-19 patients have now passed away, as of 5pm on Friday.
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  • NHS England announced 711 more deaths - 105 of these happened on Friday.
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  • At a Downing Street press conference at the end of March, Professor Stephen Powis said keeping the UK Covid death toll under 20,000 'would be a good result'.
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  • The death toll of 20,319 is actually higher because the Department of Health figures do not take into account deaths that have occurred outside of hospitals, like in care homes for example.
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  • In the latest figures, West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust recorded 18 more deaths - four of which happened on Friday.
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  • The Covid-19 death toll at the trust currently stands at 252.
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  • Meanwhile, the public has been urged to stay at home during the UK's fifth weekend under lockdown, as temperatures are expected to remain high.
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  • Forecasters have predicted warm conditions for most of the country over the weekend, prompting concerns about the "danger" that people may defy the restrictions on movement which began on March 23.
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  • During Friday's Downing Street press conference, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps urged people to stay at home despite apparent improvements in the crisis.
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  • Mr Shapps said: "The country has done incredibly well in adhering to social distancing and there is a danger as we go into yet another warm sunny weekend that people think that perhaps these graphs are showing that the peak is over.
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  • "It isn't over, we're riding perhaps, we hope, a downward trend but it is by no means, no means established yet."
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  • Professor Chris Whitty has said he does not think it likely that Britain will remain in the current lockdown pattern for the indefinite future.
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  • He said: "The R that we have at the moment is somewhere between 0.5 and 1. Let's say for the sake of argument it is in the middle of that range, which I think is likely, that does give a little bit of scope for manoeuvre and ticking some things off while still keeping it below 1.
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  • "But there are lots of ifs, buts and ands to that.
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  • "On the one hand, do not anticipate as I hope I have made reasonably clear repeatedly, that we are suddenly going to be able to lift everything, but nor do I think it likely that we will have to keep in exactly the current pattern for the indefinite future.
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  • "There's somewhere between those two, and working out exactly what that is, and what the timescale of that is, and what the package is, is going to be a difficult task for governments all around the world, and certainly obviously including the UK."
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  • Follow the live blog for updates throughout the day

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