UK coronavirus death toll rises by 67 as lockdown rules eased on 'Super Saturday'

A further 67 people have died after testing positive for coronavirus in UK hospitals on a major day of lockdown easing.

The Department of Health and Social Care confirmed 44,198 people have now died of coronavirus across all settings in the UK as of 5pm on Friday – up by 67 from the previous day.

It comes after NHS England said another 39 people have died, bringing the total number of confirmed reported deaths in England hospitals to 28,871.

Patients were aged between 45 and 99 years old and all had known underlying health conditions.

Public Health Wales said a further five people have died after testing positive for Covid-19, taking the total number of deaths to 1,530. Scotland did not log any new deaths.

Brits flooded into pubs and lined the streets outside barber shops as the hospitality industry and salons were allowed to reopen for the first time since March, dubbed "Super Saturday".

The total number of positive tests in Wales has increased by 34 to 15,875, officials said.

Many pubs in England threw open their doors at 6am to welcome back punters, while others queues outside salons and made a weekend getaway, leaving motorways jammed.

But strict new laws began in locked-down Leicester on Saturday, banning non-essential shops and the hospitality sector from reopening after the city saw a resurgence in infections.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has hailed the move the “biggest step yet on the road to recovery", but warned Brits to “enjoy summer safely”.

England's chief medical officer, Prof Chris Whitty said no-one view the easing of the rules as a risk-free step but that "there is no perfect, exact way of doing it".

"There's no doubt these are environments whose principal job it is to bring people together. That's a great thing to do socially, but it's also a great thing from the virus's point of view," he told Friday’s Downing Street briefing.

"And therefore we do have to have a really clear and really disciplined approach to try and maintain social distancing whilst also enjoying pubs."

He warned that a second wave remained a possibility and that Britain could experience "waves on waves" of spikes in the coming months.

Read more

Brits flock to pubs from 6am as barbers fill up on Super Saturday-LIVE

The UK's unluckiest pub? Car ploughs into wall hours before reopening

Traffic chaos on motorways as millions make 'Super Saturday' getaway

Downing Street ridiculed for tweeting old lockdown rules

First couples get married on Super Saturday as lockdown eased