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The number of people who have died in UK hospitals after contracting coronavirus has risen to 10,612 – an increase of 737 over 24 hours.
The figures cover the period up to 5pm on Saturday, but the true number of deaths may be significantly different. Here’s a quick primer on what all the different numbers mean and how to understand them.
Meanwhile, as of 9am on Sunday, 282,374 people have been tested for coronavirus, with 84,279 coming back positive.
Of the 657 new hospital deaths announced on Sunday by NHS England, 121 occurred on April 11 while 531 took place between April 1 and April 10.
The remaining five deaths occurred in March, with the earliest new death taking place on March 26.
Health secretary Matt Hancock called the milestone a “sombre” moment for the country.
He told reporters: “Today marks a sombre day in the impact of this disease as we join the list of countries who have seen more than 10,000 deaths related to coronavirus.
“The fact that over 10,000 people have now lost their lives to this invisible killer demonstrates just how serious this coronavirus is and why the national effort that everyone is engaged in is so important.”
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer called Sunday’s figures “heartbreaking”, adding: “Every one is a tragedy, every one is a family shattered.”
NHS England releases updated figures each day showing the dates of every coronavirus-related death in hospitals in England, often including new deaths that took place several days or even weeks ago. This is because of the time it takes for deaths to be confirmed as testing positive for Covid-19, for post-mortem tests to be processed, and for data from the tests to be validated.
The figures published today by NHS England show that April 8 currently has the highest total for the most hospital deaths occurring in a single day – 709 – although this could change in future updates.