UK coronavirus death toll grows by ten to 41,537 as cases rise by 1,940 in last 24 hours
THE UK's coronavirus death toll rose by ten today as another 1,940 positive cases were confirmed.
It means 41,537 have now died from the bug in Britain while 342,351 have been infected.
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The rise in cases is almost double the government's crucial target of 1,000 - which it aims to stick below each day.
It comes as testing is ramped-up across the UK and although the infection rate appears greater, the number of people dying is down.
There are also far fewer patients currently on ventilators in hospital (76) than there were at the peak of the pandemic.
Today's rise in deaths is similar to last Friday's, when nine fatalities were logged.
Yesterday, the toll rose by 13.
It comes as...
- Scotland and Wales ‘jumped the gun’ with quarantine measures, says Transport Sec
- Leeds could be hit with lockdown measures as cases in the city rise
- Top ten areas on Covid watch list revealed
- Cop pepper-sprays man who refused to wear mask claiming a medical condition
In England, 11 more fatalities were confirmed today, bringing the total number of Covid deaths in English hospitals to 29,596.
The patients - who died between August 2 and September 2 - were aged between 48 and 95 and all had underlying health conditions.
No new deaths were confirmed in Scotland or Wales, leaving the respective tallies there at 2,496 and 1,596.
One more person died in Northern Ireland, raising the grim figure there to 564.
Meanwhile, new data from the Covid Symptom Tracker app has revealed the ten areas on the UK's coronavirus watchlist.
East Renfrewshire and West Lothian in Scotland and Ards and North Down, Northern Ireland are all brand new to the list.
Nottingham, Tameside and Neath Port Talbot have also crept back onto the list again after previously dropping off.
Other areas in the north west of England, including Manchester, Blackpool, Halton and Oldham, have been on the list for at least a couple of weeks.
It comes as people in Leeds were warned to make "a collective effort" to avoid being plunged into a local lockdown.
The city is expected to be added to Public Health England's weekly watch list as an "area of concern" after its infection rate rose to 33 cases per 100,000 people.
There were 258 cases in the week up to August 30, which was a rise of 91 compared to the previous week.
Leeds City Council has urged residents to follow social distancing rules and warned new lockdown measures could come into force if cases continue to rise.
City council leader Judith Blake said it was "a pivotal moment in our efforts to control the spread of the virus".
"Nobody wants to see further restrictions on life in Leeds," she said.
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"The harsh reality is that if our infection rate continues to rise as it has been, we will be left with no alternative.
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"With that in mind, now more than ever we need a collective effort from the people of Leeds who have shown so much resilience and civic pride throughout this crisis.
"It's up to us all to keep our families, friends and neighbours safe and to play our part in keeping Leeds's recovery going."
