UK coronavirus death toll in hospitals alone rises by 917 in one day to 9,875

Total number of confirmed infections jumps by more than 5,000 to almost 80,000

The UK death toll from coronavirus in hospitals alone has risen by 917 in one day.

The number of people to have died from Covid-19 in hospitals in the UK climbed to 9,875 as of 5pm on Friday, the Department of Health and Social Care has reported.

It comes after a death toll of 980 a day earlier, which marked the largest daily increase for hospitalised patients in Europe to date.

The total number of confirmed infections has risen to 78,991 after a rise of 5,234.

Almost 335,000 tests have been carried out in the UK as of 9am on Saturday, according to the latest figures.

The health secretary on Saturday said it was too early to say whether coronavirus infections have reached their peak in the UK.

Mr Hancock told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “The good news is we have seen the number of hospital admissions starting – starting, I stress – to flatten out.

“You can see [from the government’s charts] that instead of going up exponentially, as they would have done if we had not taken the measures, that they are starting to come down and flatten.

“We haven’t seen that enough to have confidence to make changes.

“The answer to your question, about have we reached the peak, is nobody knows.”

The UK has been under lockdown since it was imposed by prime minister Boris Johnson on 23 March.

Members of the public are only allowed to leave the house for strict reasons, including to exercise for an hour once a day or to buy essential food.

Mr Hancock has urged people to stay indoors over the Easter weekend as temperatures are expected to reach up to 26C.