UK coronavirus deaths rise by 135 to 42,288

True total is thought to be higher than 53,000

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said 42,288 people had died in hospitals, care homes and the wider community after testing positive for coronavirus in the UK as of 5pm on Wednesday, up by 135 from 42,153 the day before.

The Government figures do not include all deaths involving Covid-19 across the UK, which is thought to have passed 53,000.

The DHSC also said in the 24-hour period up to 9am on Thursday, 136,516 tests were carried out or dispatched, with 1,218 positive results.

Overall, a total of 7,7,259,555 tests have been carried out and 300,469 cases have been confirmed positive.

The figure for the number of people tested has been “temporarily paused to ensure consistent reporting” across all methods of testing.

It comes after modelling published by the ONS and carried out by the universities of Oxford and Manchester showed “a clear downward trend” in the estimated percentage of people in England testing positive for Covid-19 since the infection study began on 26 April.

The ONS said the decline suggested by this model “appears to have slowed in recent weeks”, with the proportion of the population testing positive dropping from an estimated 0.33 per cent on 26 April to 0.10 per cent by 26 May, before levelling off around 0.07 per cent in the days up to 13 June.

Results for the most recent period are provisional, the ONS added, as not all swab test results have been received, and this may result in further revisions to the figures.