UK coronavirus virus death toll passes 40,000

Government under increased pressure over ‘inadequate’ testing effort

The UK government has faced criticism over the availability of testing. AFP

Europe’s worst outbreak of the coronavirus hit another milestone on Tuesday as Britain’s death toll passed the 40,000 mark.

Data from the UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) linked 41,020 deaths to the virus between the first week of March and May 8.

But the true death toll could be much higher, with the number of excess deaths – deaths above the usual average – topping 53,000.

The numbers of coronavirus-related deaths continue to fall in Britain, however, and in the week up to May 8 fell by more than a third when compared to the week before.

Coronavirus deaths in the UK’s care homes fell by 31 per cent, the data showed, but the total number of people who have now died with Covid-19 in care facilities has passed 10,000.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson's handling of the pandemic has been under heightened scrutiny. AFP Photo / 10 Downing Street / Andrew Parsons

With 597 fatalities, England’s north-west reported the highest number of deaths for the first time since the outbreak began.

The ONS said any trends in the data should be interpreted with caution, as British bank holidays were likely to affect the number of deaths being registered.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been criticised for his initial response to the global pandemic, and has faced weeks of scrutiny over the availability of tests for the virus.

As the figures were released, British MPs heaped yet more pressure on the Conservative government, calling its testing regime “inadequate” during the early stages of the infection.

Despite a recent surge in the daily number of tests being conducted, the country continues to fall short of government targets regularly.

In a 19-page letter to Mr Johnson on Tuesday, MPs on a parliamentary committee said: "Testing capacity has been inadequate for most of the pandemic so far.

"Capacity was not increased early enough or boldly enough. Capacity drove strategy, rather than strategy driving capacity," they said.

The findings by the House of Commons science and technology committee came after six sessions of evidence involving scientists, public health experts and government advisers, which also looked at other countries' responses to the virus.

On Sunday, Britain carried out 100,678 tests for coronavirus, but 1,215 tests were performed on March 10 – two weeks before a nationwide lockdown was ordered and as cases soared.

Lack of testing capacity was also a factor for the decision to stop contact tracing on March 12, the committee said.

Health Minister Matt Hancock made an army of contact tracers a key part of a new approach to tackling the spread of the virus, alongside wider community testing and the roll out of a smartphone app.

He announced on Monday that 21,000 contact tracers had been recruited, and testing has been expanded to include everyone aged five and over with symptoms.

A new target of 200,000 tests per day has been set for the end of this month.

The government aims to use data from all three sources to inform its easing of lockdown measures, including the partial reopening of schools.

Coronavirus around the world

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  El Salvador President Nayib Bukele puts on a face mask after a news conference during a nationwide quarantine as El Salvador's government undertakes steadily stricter measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Ilopango, El Salvador. REUTERS

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  People line up in respect of security distancing to access St. Peter's Basilica in The Vatican during the lockdown aimed at curbing the spread of the COVID-19 infection, caused by the novel coronavirus. AFP

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  A fan of AS Roma wearing a Francesco Totti jersey undergoes a body temperature scanning procedure as he enters a Gucci luxury shop in Via dei Condotti in central Rome during the country's lockdown aimed at curbing the spread of the COVID-19 infection, caused by the novel coronavirus. AFP

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  Schoolchildren wearing protective mouth masks and face shields attend a course in a classroom at Claude Debussy college in Angers, western France after France eased lockdown measures to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the novel coronavirus. AFP

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  A medical staff member wearing protective gear amid concerns over the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus takes the temperature of a resident while going door-to-door for health check-ups in Yangon. AFP

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  A Dana Inc. assembly technician wears a face mask as she assembles axles for automakers, as the auto industry begins reopening amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, at the Dana plant in Toledo, Ohio,U.S. REUTERS

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  A passenger from the first Lufthansa flight to Greece, following a nationwide lockdown against the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), is tested for coronavirus, upon their arrival at the Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport in Athens, Greece. REUTERS

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  A police officer issues Atilis Gym co-owners Ian Smith, left, and Frank Trumbetti summons outside their gym in Bellmawr, N.J. The New Jersey gym reopened for business early Monday, defying a state order that shut down nonessential businesses to help stem the spread of the coronavirus. AP Photo

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  Students stand next to cones to mark social distancing as they wait in line before entering the classroom at Les Magnolias primary school during the partial lifting of COVID-19, lockdown regulations in Brussel. AP Photo

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  People clash with police during a protest for lack of food, during the State of Constitutional Exception of Catastrophe decreed by Chilean President, to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus, in Santiago, Chile. Around a hundred residents of El Bosque, a town on the outskirts of Santiago, protested this Monday to denounce the lack of food and poverty they suffer due to the quarantine decreed by the Government to try to contain the coronavirus pandemic SARS-CoV-2. EPA