The Spectator

Covid-19 update: UK death toll nears 50,000

Coral Gables, Florida: A young girl wearing a face mask holds a sign during protest for George Floyd (Photo by Eva Marie Uzcategui/AFP via Getty Images)

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  • Public Health England has released its report on the effects of Covid-19 on BAME communities, which finds that black and Asian ethnic groups are ‘up to twice as likely to die with Covid-19 than those from a white British background’. The biggest risk factors are age and gender.
  • The ONS reports an additional 51,466 deaths this year over the five-year average, as the death toll linked to Covid-19 approaches 50,000. Details below.
  • Half of UK hospitals have reported no Covid-19 deaths in the past two days.
  • The government will no longer hold its daily Covid-19 press conferences on weekends.
  • The government is also reviewing plans for arrivals to the UK to undergo a 14-day quarantine. James Forsyth investigates the growing Tory backbench rebellion against the policy.
  • Between 30 to 60 per cent of children were kept at home yesterday as primary school classes resumed for pupils in Reception, Year 1 and Year 6. Meanwhile the government is reviewing its plan to get every primary school student back to class before the summer holidays.
  • The Spectator is to repay furlough money from the government after subscriptions rose faster than expected.
  • The number of additional students that UK universities can recruit this year has been capped at 5 per cent. The limit is to stop top universities from hoarding pupils amid a shortfall of applications.
  • MPs are due to vote today on whether to resume in-person voting in parliament. Katy Balls has the details.
  • Oxfam will begin reopening its shops from 15 June. The charity has asked people to call in advance before leaving donations due to limited storage
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‘They’ll be stuck in her in-tray for 14 days.’

UK death toll nears 50,000

When the UK locked down, Imperial College London modelling said there would be a strong dividend from the policy: deaths as low as 5,600.

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