Coronavirus: UK death toll reaches 35, with more than 200 new patients testing positive

Boris Johnson is to urge manufacturers to shift their production lines to build ventilators

A further 14 patients who tested positive for the coronavirus have died, the Department of Health has said, bringing the death toll in the UK to 35.

There were a total of 1,372 positive tests for coronavirus in the UK as of 9am on Sunday, up from 1,140 at the same time on Saturday, the department said – a rise of 232.

On Saturday, the death toll nearly doubled, rising from 11 to 21.

The new figure came soon after it emerged the government will ask elderly people to self-isolate for up to four months.

A total of 34 people have died from the virus in England, while there has been one death in Scotland.

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NHS England said the patients whose deaths were announced on Sunday were aged between 59 and 94, and they had underlying conditions.

Health secretary Matt Hancock said people aged over 70 would be asked in the coming weeks to self-isolate for up to four months to protect them from the virus.

Asked if that time frame was in the government’s plan, he told Sky’s Sophy Ridge On Sunday: “That is in the action plan, yes, and we will be setting it out with more detail when it is the right time to do so, because we absolutely appreciate that it is a very big ask of the elderly and the vulnerable, and it’s for their own self-protection.”

The move would happen in the coming weeks, he said, adding: "The measures that we're taking, the measures that we're looking at taking, are very, very significant and they will disrupt the ordinary lives of almost everybody in the country in order to tackle this virus."

Boris Johnson is to urge manufacturers to shift their production lines to build ventilators, amid concerns that critical care facilities will come under intense pressure as the crisis intensifies.

The government is in talks with private hospitals about the possibility of taking over beds, and there could be a shift to household isolation rather than individual self-isolation.

Experts on the UK's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) set out the need for extra action to slow the spread of the disease, advising that the next interventions would need to be instituted soon.

Public Health Wales confirmed 34 new cases of Covid-19 in Wales on Sunday, bringing the total number confirmed in the country to 94.

Eleven new cases were confirmed in Northern Ireland, bringing the total number of known cases there to 45.

Elsewhere, the Society for Acute Medicine warned that one of the biggest issues facing the NHS in tackling coronavirus is staffing.

Dr Nick Scriven, immediate past president of the society, said: "The biggest concern I have in terms of management of Covid-19 is staff and what happens when hospital and community workers become ill or go into isolation.

"Or when schools close and NHS staff have to look after young families."

Additional reporting by PA