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Coronavirus news: Fewer than 20,000 victims would be ‘good result’, NHS chief says as UK death toll climbs and three ministers self-isolate

Britain's Health Secretary Matt Hancock (R) listening as Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks: PRU/AFP via Getty Images
Britain's Health Secretary Matt Hancock (R) listening as Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks: PRU/AFP via Getty Images

Limiting coronavirus fatalities to less than 20,000 in the UK would be a "good result", NHS England's medical director Stephen Powis has said, hours after the Department of Health revealed the virus had already claimed 1,019 lives.

Scottish secretary Alister Jack became the third Cabinet minister to self-isolate with symptoms, after Boris Johnson, health secretary Matt Hancock and England’s chief medical officer in self-isolation tested positive, prompting the business secretary to warn: “No one is immune.”

Meanwhile, coronavirus tests for frontline NHS staff are to be trialled this weekend in a bid to get them back to work if they get the all-clear. They will then be rolled out to the wider workforce, with those receiving a negative result able to return to work.

There are now more than 660,000 Covid-19 cases across the world, including more than 30,600 deaths.

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