A total of 6,227 have died after contracting coronavirus in the United Kingdom. 854 persons died today.

According to Metro Uk, today’s jump in deaths is the biggest daily increase since the outbreak began, following a rise of 439 deaths yesterday and 621 on Sunday. The toll was updated after England recorded another 758 deaths, and 74 people were confirmed dead in Scotland.

Wales recorded 19 more deaths today, while three more people died in Northern Ireland. It took 17 days for the death count in the UK to pass 200, but it has taken a further 17 days for the number to pass 6,000.

The latest figures emerged as Boris Johnson’s spokesman confirmed the Prime Minister has not been diagnosed with pneumonia and has not needed a ventilator, despite being taken into intensive care for persistent coronavirus symptoms.

Downing Street said the PM is ‘stable’ and in ‘good spirits’ after a night in the critical unit at St Thomas’ hospital in central London where he is now receiving ‘standard oxygen therapy’. He was taken in for tests as a precautionary measure on Sunday after developing a cough and a fever, but his condition worsened yesterday afternoon.

A Number 10 spokesman said the PM had received ‘non-invasive’ oxygen treatment and did not require mechanical ventilation to keep his lungs working. Senior minister Michael Gove confirmed Dominic Raab is now running the country while the PM fights coronavirus in hospital.

Mr Raab’s first job as stand-in PM on Tuesday will be to lead the Government’s emergency daily coronavirus ‘war Cabinet’ meeting with senior colleagues and the UK’s chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty, and chief scientific adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance.

The Foreign Secretary has vowed to follow the PM’s ‘direction’ for tackling the deadly virus, although he admitted at the Number 10 press briefing that the pair last spoke on Saturday. Meanwhile, new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed the true coronavirus death toll could be 8% higher. The ONS confirmed 38 people with coronavirus died outside hospitals in England and Wales in the week up to March 27.

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