The latest British government figures on coronavirus show the country’s sharpest increase to date in the number of deaths, up 181 in one day to a new total of 759 as of Thursday evening.
As of 9am local time Friday, the UK’s Department of Health and Social Care said 113,777 people had been tested for the novel coronavirus. Of those, over 14,500 were positive.
On Thursday, Chris Hopson, the chief executive of NHS Providers said London hospitals were facing a “continuous tsunami” of Covid-19 cases, with beds filling up at a rate greater “than you can ever have possibly imagined.”
UK PM Boris Johnson was the latest high-profile figure to test positive for the virus, announcing his test results in a video posted online on Friday. British Health Secretary Matt Hancock also confirmed he has contracted the disease.
Also on rt.com UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson tests POSITIVE for Covid-19 infectionJohnson announced a national lockdown on Monday in an effort to curb the spread of the infection.
Adding to the pressure British hospitals are under is the fact that between 30 and 50 percent of staff in some NHS trusts were off sick with either suspected Covid-19 or because they are in an at-risk group for contracting the illness.
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