The UK’s COVID-19 death toll rose by 621 to 4,934 as of 4pm on Saturday, the British Department of Health and Social Care said yesterday, a few hours ahead of a special nationally televised address from Queen Elizabeth II.
A total of 195,524 people had been tested, of whom 47,806 tested positive, the department said
In a pre-recorded video shot at Windsor Castle, Queen Elizabeth urged people to rise to the challenge posed by the coronavirus, and personally thanked frontline healthcare workers.
Photo: AFP
“I hope in the years to come everyone will be able to take pride in how they responded to this challenge,” she said, according to extracts released on Saturday.
Her address came after the British government warned it might ban outside exercise if people flout stringent guidelines aimed at curbing virus transmission, as warmer weather stoked fears people could congregate in parks and open spaces.
The day before, US President Donald Trump warned Americans to brace for a “very horrendous” number of deaths in the coming days, as the number of confirmed cases there surged past 312,000 — the highest in the world.
“This will probably be the toughest week,” Trump said at the White House on Saturday. “There will be a lot of death.”
With more than 1.2 million people confirmed to be infected, the virus is also putting massive pressure on healthcare services in nations both rich and poor, which are struggling to find enough staff and equipment.
Despite Trump’s bleak warning for the US, there were glimmers of hope in hard-hit Italy, ground zero for COVID-19 in Europe, and in Spain.
Italy, which has registered more than 15,000 deaths, cheered after seeing the number of intensive care virus cases drop for the first time on Saturday.
Even some of the most cautious Italian health officials seized on the figures as evidence that the tide might be turning in the deadliest disaster the country has faced since World War II.
Spain, which is under a near-total lockdown, saw a third successive daily fall in coronavirus-related deaths, with 647 fatalities, taking its total to more than 12,400.
Although the number of new cases also slowed, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced an extension of a lockdown until April 25.
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