UK coronavirus hospital death toll rises to 18,100

'We are ramping up our testing capacity and our capacity for contact tracing in a matter of weeks', health minister says

The number of deaths in UK hospitals from coronavirus has risen to 18,100, according to the latest figures from the Department for Health and Social Care.

The government announced the 759 new deaths alongside an increase in cases of 4,451 for the 24 hours up to 9am this morning - leaving the total number of people infected by the virus in the UK at 133,495 since the outbreak began.

The number of cases marks the third day in a row the increase in new infections has fallen below four per cent - marking a stark decline in growth compared to a month prior, on 22 March, when new cases rose by 17 per cent.

In Westminster, health secretary Matt Hancock told MPs he was confident the country was at the peak of the virus - but stressed that continued social distancing was still needed to ensure the number of new cases declined.

He told MPs, many of whom joined the Commons session remotely by video link: "We are ramping up our testing capacity and our capacity for contact tracing in a matter of weeks."

Mr Hancock added that the government will introduce contact tracing at "large scale" as a way of easing lockdown restrictions - following the urging of officials including scientific experts and experts and former health secretary Jeremy Hunt for Whitehall to announce how it would introduce the measures.

As has been deployed in other countries including South Korea, which was once heavily afflicted by the virus but has since dramatically reduced cases, by finding those who are infected with coronavirus and tracing their contacts routes of onward transmission of Covid-19 can be slowed until a vaccine is found.

The health secretary told MPs that the expansion of testing capacity "was ahead of plans" and the number of people eligible for testing was being expanded - despite capacity standing at 41,398 over the last 24 hours with only 18,206 tests conducted.

"And as we have reached the peak, and as we bring the number of new cases down, so we will introduce contact tracing at large scale," he said.

He went on to note the Government was working "closely with some of the best digital and technological brains" on a contact tracing app, which is in trials.