Covid-19: Teenager with no underlying health conditions dies in UK
Some 1,789 people have now died in UK hospitals.
A 19-year-old with no underlying health conditions has died in hospital after testing positive for Covid-19, NHS England has said.
The teenager was among 367 new deaths in England’s hospitals announced on Tuesday.
All patients were aged between 19 and 98 years old, and all but 28 (aged between 19 and 91) had underlying health conditions, NHS England said in a statement.
A total of 1,789 patients have now died overall in UK hospitals as of 5pm on Monday, the Department of Health said, up by 381 from 1,408 the day before.
The jump is by far the biggest day-on-day rise in the number of deaths since the outbreak began.
It means the total number of deaths is 27% higher than the equivalent figure the day before.
It comes as other figures revealed that the true death toll is higher than hospital statistics suggest.
Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) for England and Wales shows there were 24% more deaths relating to Covid-19 up to and including March 20, compared to hospital-only data for the same period.
The ONS looked at all deaths where Covid-19 was mentioned as a factor, including hospital deaths and those in the community and care homes.
A total of 210 deaths in England and Wales for the time period had Covid-19 mentioned on the death certificate, compared with 170 coronavirus-related deaths reported by NHS England and Public Health Wales.
Hospital figures are of people who have tested positive for Covid-19, whereas the ONS includes all deaths where Covid-19 is mentioned on the death certificate, even if only suspected.
However, the ONS data does provide a much wider picture of what may be happening in the community.
It comes as Boris Johnson chaired a meeting of his Cabinet by videolink on Tuesday, as he continues to self-isolate in Downing Street after testing positive for coronavirus.
The Prime Minister has faced heavy criticism over shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) for frontline NHS staff as well as the slow rollout of testing.
All Cabinet ministers dialled into the meeting, with only civil service chief Sir Mark Sedwill and a small number of officials in the Cabinet room in Downing Street, following the rules and keeping two metres apart.
The Prime Minister told the meeting: “The rising death toll in recent days showed the vital importance of the public continuing to stick to the social distancing guidance which has been put in place by the Government, based on scientific and medical advice.”
He added: “The situation is going to get worse before it gets better – but it will get better.”
Separate new figures from ONS show that for the 108 deaths registered up to March 20 where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate, 45 (or 42%) were people aged 85 and over while 34 (31%) were people aged 75 to 84.
A total of 21 deaths (19%) were people aged 65 to 74, seven (6%) were people aged 45 to 64 and one death was among somebody aged 15 to 44.
