Coronavirus: 'Sombre day' as UK deaths hit 10,000

The UK has recorded 737 new coronavirus-related hospital deaths, taking the total number to 10,612.

It comes after one of the government's senior scientific advisers said the UK is likely to be among the worst-affected European countries.

In response, Business Secretary Alok Sharma said countries were on "different trajectories".

Meanwhile, Boris Johnson thanked healthcare workers for saving his life after being discharged from hospital.

The number of reported deaths does not include deaths outside of hospitals, such as in care homes or in the community.

Ministers are continuing to urge people to stay at home over the Easter weekend to curb the spread of the virus, despite warm and sunny weather across parts of the UK.

The increase of 737 deaths is less than the daily total announced on Saturday, when the UK recorded 917 new coronavirus deaths.

Today's fall in the number of newly announced deaths of people with coronavirus is of little comfort as we pass the tragic milestone of 10,000.

And we know that the true death toll to date is higher: this figure doesn't include people who have died with coronavirus but whose death has not yet been reported to the Department for Health.

But it could have been worse.

Up until last weekend, this figure was doubling every three-and-a-half days. Had that continued, we might have seen over 2,500 deaths announced today.

That growth has not happened. Today's fall could be attributed to less reporting of deaths over a bank holiday.

Even if we have not turned the corner, the number of deaths announced each day has held below 1,000 throughout the week.

That is still a terrifying figure.

But the slowdown in the growth of new cases, of people hospitalised with coronavirus and in deaths all add to the evidence that the lockdown is working.

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