UK coronavirus death toll rises by 381 to 1,789 in biggest day-on-day increase yet

A total of 1,789 patients have died in hospital after testing positive for coronavirus in the UK.

The figure, correct as of 5pm on Monday, is up by 381 from 1,408 the day before.

It is almost as much as the previous two days' death tolls combined. The figures were released by the Department of Health.

367 of those deaths were in England. NHS England said those who died were all in hospital and their ages ranged from 19 to 98.

All but 28 of the patients had underlying health conditions. The 28 who did not were aged between 19 and 91.

The Department of Health also said that, as of 9am on Tuesday, a total of 143,186 people have been tested, with 25,150 testing positive.

Today (Tuesday) was by far the biggest day-on-day rise in the number of deaths since the outbreak began.

It means the total number of deaths is 27% higher than the equivalent figure yesterday.

The day-on-day increase in the number of deaths reported on Monday was 15%, on Sunday 21% and on Saturday 34%.

It came as Number 10 hinted that the Prime Minister is frustrated by the slow progress on testing as it urged NHS trusts to use spare tests on staff.

Fewer than 10,000 tests per day are being carried out, according to the latest figures from Public Health England, despite Health Secretary Matt Hancock saying a target of 10,000 per day had been hit.

The coronavirus pandemic has infected more than 800,000 people worldwide and more than 38,000 deaths have been recorded. The World Health Organisation warns that while attention has shifted to epicentres in Western Europe and North America, Covid-19 epidemics are "far from over" in Asia and the Pacific.