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Coronavirus: ‘More than 1.7 million may have had disease’ in UK according to NHS assessments

More than 1.7 million people may have contracted Covid-19 so far, according to the NHS.

New figures from NHS 111 online show there were 1,496,651 web-based assessments which flagged potential coronavirus cases based on people’s symptoms between March 28 and March 31.

A further 243,543 assessments via the NHS 111 and 999 phone lines also concluded people had possibly contracted the disease.

But the assessment numbers do not necessarily relate to individual people the NHS said, as it is possible people have sought help more than once or through various channels.

The data, published by NHS Digital, comes after GP practices in England were told to open over the Easter Bank Holiday to help the NHS cope with coronavirus.

It is thought infections from the virus could hit a peak over the period.

The British Medical Association told members “emergency changes to... contract regulations are being made which are likely to lead to practices being required to be open on Good Friday and Easter Monday.”

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