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England records lowest daily coronavirus hospital death toll since mid-March

Paramedics and medical staff with waiting ambulances outside the NHS Nightingale Hospital at the ExCel centre in London, a temporary hospital with 4000 beds which has been set up for the treatment of Covid-19 patients. (Photo by Dominic Lipinski/PA Images via Getty Images)
England has recorded its lowest daily death toll since mid-March. (Photo by Dominic Lipinski/PA Images via Getty Images)

A further 11 people have died after testing positive for coronavirus in England’s hospitals, the lowest daily total since 13 March.

It brings the total number of confirmed hospital deaths to 29,077 in England.

All patients were aged between 72 and 95 and had underlying health conditions.

Figures reported on Mondays have tended to be lower than usual, however.

Just one death was recorded on 13 March, followed by 18 on 14 March, government data shows.

The number comes despite England’s continued easing of restrictions designed to slow the spread of the virus, with a range of businesses including the hospitality sector allowed to welcome back customers.

The government has been examining ways to ensure the coronavirus does not spread rapidly again as it encourages people to visit shops and go back to work.

Boris Johnson has hinted that wearing masks may become compulsory in shops.

He told journalists: “They have a great deal of value in confined spaces where you’re coming into contact with people you don’t normally meet.

“The scientific evaluation of face coverings and their importance on stopping aerosol droplets, that’s been growing, so I do think that in shops it is very important to wear a face covering if you’re going to be in a confined space and you want to protect other people and receive protection in turn.

“Yes, face coverings, I think people should be wearing in shops, and in terms of how we do that – whether we will be making that mandatory or not – we will be looking at the guidance, we will be saying a little bit more in the next few days.”

Last week, government data show the R range – a measure of how fast the outbreak is growing, or if it is declining – showed it was creeping towards one for the majority of England’s regions.

If the value of R climbs above one it means an outbreak in an area is growing.

Today’s update comes as both Scotland and Wales recorded no new coronavirus deaths.

In Scotland, it has been five days since the country recorded any deaths from COVID-19.

Coronavirus: what happened today
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