The UK's coronavirus death toll increased by 413 today - the lowest recorded this month - as NHS bosses said social distancing is '...
The UK's coronavirus death toll increased by 413 today - the lowest recorded this month - as NHS bosses said social distancing is 'paying off' but warned breaking the rules now could result in a second peak of the deadly disease.
Stephen Powis, the national medical director of NHS England, said the latest government statistics showed there had been a 'slight uptick' in the number of people using their cars and going outside in recent days.
He told the daily Downing Street coronavirus press conference that the nation needed to 'remind ourselves that this has been a really tough four weeks and we don't want to lose the benefits' which have resulted from people staying at home.
Mr Powis said nobody could be 'absolutely confident' that the UK is now firmly on a downward trajectory as he urged Britons to continue to adhere to draconian lockdown measures.
The 413 new fatalities represents a significant drop on yesterday's UK figures - and are also lower than previous Sundays, which typically see a lower toll than weekdays.
But the government is still swatting away calls to publish a road map out of lockdown, with Dominic Raab this morning admonishing both Labour and Tory figures demanding an exit strategy.
Environment Secretary George Eustice remained equally tight-lipped at this afternoon's briefing, where he confirmed the number of deaths have now hit 20,732.
The cabinet minister also said cases have risen by 4,463 to 153,840 after 29,058 tests were performed yesterday - a figure which will set alarm bells ringing in Whitehall after Matt Hancock vowed to hit 100,000 tests by the end of April.
The latest Downing Street data showed there has been a slight increase in the number of people going outside in recent days
Transport use overall remains relatively flat but the number of vehicles on the nations has rose slightly which has spooked the government's health expert
There have been growing signs in recent days that some Britons may have grown restless with the state of lockdown.
Official data shows there are more people using the nation's roads while photographs suggest more people are venturing outside to use the UK's green spaces.
But Mr Powis said this afternoon that everyone must continue to stay at home as much as possible - or risk a second surge in coronavirus cases.
He said: 'Over the last few weeks of course we have seen because those social distancing measures have been adhered to that those curbs have started to change and as I showed you a few minutes ago we are now beginning to see declines, particularly in London and yes deaths are now either plateauing around the country or beginning to decline.
'But I should emphasise those benefits have only occurred not by luck but because people have complied with the instructions we have all been given and they have followed the science. The science of this is quite straight forward.'
Stephen Powis, the national medical director of NHS England, said the latest government statistics showed there had been a 'slight uptick' in the number of people using their cars and going outside in recent days
The number of people in hospital with coronavirus continues to fall in many parts of the country, and in others there is a steady plateau
The UK's coronavirus death rate continues to hover at roughly the same level as its European neighbours in France, Spain and Italy
Downing Street data showed the he number of new daily cases has been broadly stable in recent days, but this has been affected by increased testing
Shoppers are pictured queuing outside the Range in Derby as the coronavirus crisis continues with the government still urging people to stay at home as much as possible
Pictured: People queue outside a B&Q store in Watford as social distancing continues across the UK
Mr Powis said the UK's efforts 'hard though they might be, have begun to pay off'.
But he warned Britain cannot yet be totally certain of its downward trajectory and added: 'But of course the other point to make is it will only continue to pay off if we continue to keep social distancing and we continue to comply with those messages.
'Because of course my fear, as the fear of all of us is, is that those curves won't continue to be on a downward trend but will start to go in an upward trend and we are not at the point that any of us can be absolutely confident that that is not going to be the case.
'We want to avoid a second peak, we want to avoid a rise and so I can't emphasise enough that this is not the time to say actually we have done a good job we need to stop complying with out social distancing instructions and the government guidance.
'This is exactly the time to keep that up and that is why when I showed you the transport graphs and curves earlier, that slight uptick in motor vehicles, that slight uptick in the use of Apple Maps, we need to keep a close eye on that.
'We all need to remind ourselves that this has been a really tough four weeks and we don't want to lose the benefits that have come from this. We need to keep going.'
The government has been under growing pressure to set out its lockdown exit strategy, with Tory donors, MPs and even Cabinet ministers urging Boris Johnson to detail how restrictions could be lifted.
But Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who continues to deputise for the PM until he returns to work tomorrow, slapped down the government's critics today as he said the focus must remain on slowing the spread of the disease.
Mr Raab said Britain is still at a 'delicate and dangerous' stage of the outbreak and while ministers are doing their 'homework', now is not the time to detail findings in public.
He said that 'frankly it is not responsible to start speculating about the individual measures' - a direct rebuke to Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer who has demanded the government publish an action plan and to Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon who has set out her own blueprint for how to start getting life back to normal.
Mr Raab also today insisted the UK is 'on track' to carry out 100,000 daily coronavirus tests by the end of April.
Meanwhile, Imperial College epidemiologist Neil Ferguson, whose previous death toll predictions prompted the government to impose lockdown, warned the number of deaths could reach 100,000 by the end of this year if a gradual easing of lockdown is implemented with just the elderly continuing to be shielded.
Today's figures from England, Scotland and Wales include those who die in hospital - but not care home deaths, which are believed to be a significant portion of the true numbers.
NHS England releases figures every day showing the dates of every coronavirus-related death in hospitals in England, and will often include previously uncounted deaths that took place several days or even weeks ago.
This is due to the time it takes for deaths to be confirmed as testing positive for Covid-19 - along with processing post-mortem examinations and data from the tests to be validated.
Northern Ireland's figures for today have not yet been revealed - nor have the official Department of Health statistics.
A large queue formed in Clapham today as people waited to be served ice cream at a gelataria on Northcote Road
Richmond Park in the west of the capital was also busy with walkers and cyclists today as temperatures hit 21C
There were also plenty of cyclists in the centre of London today. Pictured is The Mall with Buckingham Palace in the background
Police spoke to sunbathers as they patrolled Greenwich Park in the south of London today
Dominic Raab today insisted the UK is 'on track' to carry out 100,000 daily coronavirus tests by the end of April
Today's figures show a further 336 people who tested positive for the virus died in England, bringing the total number of confirmed reported deaths in hospitals in the country to 18,420.
A total of 1,249 patients have now died in Scotland after testing positive for Covid-19, a rise of 18 from 1,231 on Saturday, the Scottish Government confirmed.
The number of people who have tested positive for the virus north of the border is 10,324, up 273 from Saturday's figure of 10,051.
The figures published on the Scottish Government's website confirmed 1,735 patients are in hospital with confirmed or suspected Covid-19, down 13 from 1,748 the previous day. Of these, 133 were in intensive care - a fall of seven.
A further 14 people have died after testing positive for coronavirus in Wales, taking the total number of deaths there to 788, health officials said.
And Public Health Wales said a further 178 people had tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 9,078.
A couple view the empty beach in Broadstairs, Kent today as the UK continues in lockdown to help curb the spread of the coronavirus
NHS England releases figures every day showing the dates of every coronavirus-related death in hospitals in England, and will often include previously uncounted deaths that took place several days or even weeks ago
But the figures revealed so far indicate a possible new low for deaths in the country.
Dr Giri Shankar, from Public Health Wales, said: 'Based on the new case numbers there is emerging evidence suggesting a levelling-off in the number of new cases of Covid-19 in Wales, which may be an indication of the effectiveness of lockdown measures.
'However, it is still too early to tell for sure, and it is too soon to end the current social distancing rules.
'Public Health Wales fully supports the First Minister's announcement on revised stay-at-home regulations.
'The changes supplement the rules already in force but they respond to some challenges being faced in parts of the country and by families throughout Wales.
'The message has not changed - anyone can get coronavirus, anyone can spread it. Stay home, protect the NHS, and save lives.'
It came as Mr Raab today insisted the UK government is 'on track' to hit Matt Hancock's 100,000 daily coronavirus tests target by the end of the month despite the number of checks continuing to lag far below capacity.
Mr Hancock set the target at the start of April and ministers now have just four days to get to the six-figure testing number.
The latest published statistics show daily capacity for tests is at about 51,000 but the number actually carried out is still below 30,000, leaving the government with a massive task if it is to deliver on the Health Secretary's goal.
But Mr Raab said this morning he expected there to be a 'big surge' in tests carried out this week as extra capacity 'comes on tap'.
His comments came as key workers again struggled to secure a home testing kit after the government's website stated there were 'non available' just twenty minutes after the latest batch of the checks was released today.
The test site launched on Friday in an effort get key workers who are isolating checked so they can go back to work.
But so far it has struggled with high demand, with tests running out in a matter of minutes.
Mr Hancock has pledged 5,000 tests a day would be made available for key workers through the online portal, in an effort to 'get Britain back on her feet'. Key workers can also book slots at drive-through testing centres across the country.
Mr Hancock is under huge political pressure to deliver on the target and he said on Friday he does believe 100,000 tests will be carried out every day as of the end of this month 'but nothing is guaranteed in life'.
That pressure has only grown after England's Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty told MPs that the government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) had not signed off on the number.
Mr Raab was told during an appearance on Sky News this morning that just 28,700 tests were carried out in 24 hours according to the latest available data.
Asked if he believes the government will get to 100,000 by the end of the month, he said: 'You are right about that in terms of the latest figures for tests carried out although it is a bit old now because we have come through the weekend, we have got new data.
'Our capacity for carrying out tests is now at 51,000 per day so we have passed the halfway line to our target.
'There are two things in the last week that really matter and you always get the exponential increase in a project like this in the last week as the capacity comes on tap.'
He continued: 'First of all, with the NHS portal we are making sure people can access the tests either through home kits, through any one of the 31 drive-through centres and increasingly with mobile testing labs and the military are helping spread those across the country.
'The second thing is we focused initially on NHS workers, then on care workers, we have now brought it to include all essential workers.
'So I think we are going to see a big surge in the last week and we are on track to hit that target.'
On the booking website's first day in operation some 46,000 people attempted to secure a test with available home checks and drive-through slots gone in a matter of minutes.
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