UK coronavirus death toll jumps by 118 as total hits 36,793

The number of people who have died after testing positive for coronavirus has jumped by 118.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said 36,793 people had died in hospitals, care homes and the wider community after testing positive for coronavirus in the UK as of 5pm on Saturday, up by 118 from 36,675 the day before.

In the 24-hour period up to 9am on Sunday, 110,401 tests were carried out or dispatched, with 2,409 positive results.

Overall a total of 3,458,905 tests have been carried out and 259,559 cases have been confirmed positive.

It comes individual hospital boards suggested hospital deaths in the UK had jumped by 164 on Sunday. It is not clear why the figures differ.

NHS England announced 147 new deaths of people who tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of confirmed reported deaths in hospitals in England to 25,691.

Meanwhile, Scotland announced nine further deaths, Wales reported seven and Northern Ireland confirmed one.

It comes as Scotland’s Health Secretary Jeane Freeman issued a reminder to everyone in Scotland about the rules around self-isolation, saying the “message may have become confused in the last 24 hours because of events in other parts of the UK”.

Alluding to reports about Dominic Cummings allegedly breaking coronavirus lockdown rules by making a 250-mile journey to visit his family, Ms Freeman said self-isolating is not the same as lockdown and means “you should not leave the house for any reason”.

Boris Johnson is under renewed pressure to sack the 48-year-old adviser after it was claimed Mr Cummings travelled to visit his family a second time, despite official guidelines warning against long-distance journeys.

Steve Baker became the first Conservative MP to break ranks and demand that Boris Johnson sack Dominic Cummings over his alleged breach of lockdown rules.

He told Sky's Sophy Ridge programme on Sunday morning that Mr Cummings "holds in contempt any effort to hold him accountable to others" and that "no one is indispensable".

Labour and the SNP have both written to Cabinet Secretary Mark Sedwill demanding an "urgent inquiry" into the allegations.

But the Prime Minister pledged his “full support” on Saturday and Mr Cummings has insisted he behaved "reasonably and legally".

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