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Coronavirus death toll in UK rises to 233 with 41-year-old Britain’s youngest victim in biggest 24-hour leap yet
BRITAIN'S coronavirus death toll today rose to 233 - with a 41-year-old becoming the UK's youngest victim yet.
The 56 new deaths were recorded for the whole of the UK in the biggest 24-hour leap yet.
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NHS England confirmed 53 people had died after testing positive - including the 41-year-old who had underlying health conditions.
Two further people died in Wales - bringing the total death toll to 55, health officials confirmed.
One coronavirus victim died at Singleton Hospital aged 75, while a 98-year-old passed away at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd. Both had underlying health conditions.
And the number of deaths in Scotland rose to seven today after one more person died, while 373 people have now tested positive for the killer virus there.
It comes after Boris Johnson said without "drastic action" cases will double every five to six days.
Today's total of 233 means the death toll in the UK has actually quadrupled in the five days since the PM's grim warning.
There had been 55 coronavirus fatalities on March 16 when Boris first spoke to the nation in a No10 daily briefing.
Coronavirus cases for the UK have soared to 5,018, according to the latest figures released by the Department of Health today.
The number of cases have rocketed by 1,035 in the last 24 hours, up from 3,983 yesterday.
Northern Ireland today reported a rise of 22 extra cases, taking it's total to 108.
Today's No10 briefing heard how:
- Brits should 'stay calm' and not panic buy as there IS enough food
- NHS chief says we should 'all be ashamed' of depriving key workers of essentials
- Supermarkets will waive plastic bag charge for all shoppers
- Panic buyers have spent more than £1billion on food in three weeks
- Environment Secretary George Eustice says food production is up by 50 per cent
It comes as Brits were today warned to ";be responsible" and stop panic buying because there is enough food for everyone.
In today's daily Downing Street announcement, Brits were urged to "stay calm" and stop stripping shop shelves bare by Environment, Food and Rural Affairs secretary George Eustice.
The national medical director made a direct plea to the nation this afternoon at Downing Street to do what they are being told.
He added people should be "ashamed" of themselves for panic-buying, and urged people to think of struggling NHS staff.
"I would like to make a plea on behalf of all my colleagues in the NHS, nurses, doctors, paramedics and many, many others who are working incredibly hard at the moment to manage this outbreak of coronavirus," he said.
"It's incredibly important that they too have access to food, to those essential supplies that they need."
It comes after Boris Johnson yesterday vowed "we will get through this together" as he introduced drastic new measures that saw pubs, clubs and restaurants ordered to close their doors.
Cinemas, theatres and galleries will also close in a desperate bid to curb the spread of the bug.
Restaurants will still be allowed to do takeaways, while supermarkets are unlikely to be affected at this stage.
The government lockdown will be reviewed after the two-week shutdown ends.
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Mr Johnson said: "Clearly, there are licencing arrangements which will make it relatively simple to do should that be necessary.
"We will enforce it strictly, but in reality everybody can see the imperative of doing what is necessary, of protecting our NHS and saving lives."
It came after pictures showed boozed-up Brits spilling out of clubs and bars in recent days.
Last night, revellers also packed out pubs for the last time before their doors shut for at least two weeks.
Hundreds of revellers flouted government advice to swerve pubs and descended on British cities last night.
Britain's lockdown means around 1.4million Brits could be told to self-isolate on Monday due to the bug.
Experts say that older people and those with underlying health conditions are more susceptible to the deadly bug.
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Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: "These are some of the most difficult and challenging cases so we'll be getting in contact with them, but if people think that they are on this list and don't receive a communication from the NHS, then they also need to get in contact.
"So that is under way, the money was announced for it yesterday.
"A combination of money to the NHS and money to councils because they've got a very big part to play in keeping people safe."
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