GRIM MILESTONE
UK coronavirus death toll passes China and Iran’s official tallies as 684 more die taking total to 3,645
BRITAIN'S coronavirus death toll has today overtaken China and Iran's official tallies after 684 more people died - bringing the total to 3,645.
Based on figures released by both countries' governments, Britain's death toll is now 319 higher than China where the outbreak started.
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And the latest deaths put Britain higher than Iran's official death toll of 3,294.
The figures for both countries have been posted on the John Hopkins University website but their governments have been accused of hiding the true numbers of deaths.
Insiders today claimed the figure in Iran is actually five times higher - with “massive fatalities” reaching over 15,000 across 237 cities.
Figures also suggest Britain's coronavirus death toll is actually higher than Italy's was at the same stage of the pandemic.
Yesterday's total death toll of at least 2,961 people was 456 more than the 2,505 deaths in Italy at the same point of their outbreak.
Italy has seen the most coronavirus deaths of any country in the world with 13,915.
The UK's peak is now expected to hit on Easter Sunday with around 1,000 deaths a day, Health Secretary Matt Hancock has warned.
The Department of Health today confirmed positive cases for the deadly disease in the UK have jumped to 38,168 - up 4,450 from yesterday's total of 33,718.
The number of people testing positive for Covid-19 has been rising on average by around 17 per cent per day - suggesting we are no closer to the "curve" flattening.
NHS England confirmed there were 604 deaths in England - bringing the total to 3,302.
The victims were aged between 24 and 100 - with 34 having no underlying health conditions.
In Scotland, a further 46 people have died - bringing the total death toll to 172.
Wales suffered 24 more deaths - with the total now at 141.
Deaths in Northern Ireland doubled in a day with 12 more bringing the total to 48.
The Department of Health also confirmed 11,764 tests were carried out yesterday in England - below the current capacity of 12,799 tests per day.
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Among the UK coronavirus deaths announced today is a 36-year-old nurse who had no underlying health issues.
Areema Nasreen, a mum-of-three, has sadly passed away after fighting for her life where she worked at Walsall Manor Hospital in the West Midlands.
She is the seventh confirmed death of an NHS worker from coronavirus after Aimee O'Rourke, 38, tragically passed away at the Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital in Margate, Kent, where she worked.
Boris Johnson today urged Brits to not go out and enjoy the sunshine this weekend as he revealed he was staying in isolation because he is still sick with coronavirus.
The Queen has also recorded a special coronavirus broadcast to the nation, which will air on Sunday night.
It comes after 569 people were revealed to have died from the killer virus yesterday - including 44 with no underlying health conditions.
But the true death toll is actually higher after it was revealed on Tuesday coronavirus had killed another 40 people outside hospital up to March 20.
The coronavirus pandemic reached a grim milestone yesterday with the number of people infected worldwide soaring past one million.
A new hospital, NHS Nightingale, was opened at the London ExCel centre today to help cope with the surge in patients needing Covid-19 treatment.
Prince Charles, who is recovering from coronavirus, hailed the "unbelievable feat of work" that saw a new 4,000-bed coronavirus hospital opened in just nine days.
It comes as The Sun revealed NHS trusts are sending hundreds of staff swabs to Germany because the results come back twice as fast.
Public Health England (PHE) facilities can take up to four days to test samples, say sources.
But German labs are flying in and processing swabs on the same day. NHS staff then get their results just two days later.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock yesterday pledged to carry out 100,000 daily tests by the end of the month as part of a new “five-pillar” strategy.
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It includes working with private labs to boost checks on NHS staff — and screening the public to see if they are immune from the virus.
Ministers also aim to build mass-testing facilities to meet future demand.
The government had faced criticism after it was revealed just 2,000 NHS staff - out of 550,000 - have been tested for coronavirus.
Thousands of doctors, GPs, nurses and paramedics are stuck in quarantine because they, or someone at at home, has symptoms.
Around 85 per cent could return to work if they knew they weren't carrying the virus.
MOST READ IN NEWS
Last night, Brits loudly applauded NHS heroes for putting their lives on the line to fight coronavirus.
Millions of people came to their front doors and on to balconies to proudly clap for those on the frontline - as the quarantined Prime Minister joined the salute.
The first emotional Clap For Carers took place on Thursday, March 26, and is expected to continue on a weekly basis.
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