THE UK has suffered its deadliest day in the coronavirus pandemic with 1,820 succumbing to the virus in the past 24 hours.
It’s the second day in a row that the UK has recorded its second deadliest day during the pandemic after a staggering 1,620 Covid-related deaths were recorded yesterday.
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Today’s daily deaths mean the number of fatalities has risen by 16 per cent since last week.
A total of 38,905 people have tested positive for the virus bringing the total to 3,505754 infections.
Boris Johnson warned “there will be more to come” in “tough weeks ahead” after an “appalling” 1,820 Covid deaths were recorded.
The Prime Minister said “the light will only really begin to dawn as we get those vaccinations up”.
Mr Johnson insisted that virus cases are flattening but “not very fast”, adding the vaccine push is literally “a race against time”.
Speaking from No10 on the pandemic’s darkest day yet, Mr Johnson said “these figs are appalling and of course we think of the suffering that each one of those deaths represent to their friends.
“And I have to tell you, there will be more to come, because what we’re seeing is the result of the new variant that we saw just before Christmas.
“It spread very quickly, not just in London and south east where it began but now in virtually in all parts of the country.
But in a sliver of hope he added: “I looks as though the rates of infection in the country overall may now be peaking or flattening but they’re not flattening very fast.
He added: “We must hope that by getting the numbers of daily infections down – in the way that perhaps has been happening since the lockdown – that will feed through into a reduction in deaths as well.
And he pleaded with Brits to obey the stay at home order to keep the numbers going down.
“It’s clear that we must keep a grip on this, we must maintain discipline, keep observing the lockdown, protect the NHS, save lives while the vaccine’s go in.
As more than four million get the jab, Mr Johnson insisted “we’re going absolutely as fast as we can, it’s literally a race against time, a race to protect the elderly and the vulnerable in the context of what is still a very tough pandemic.”
But he said the difference would be noticeable by the Spring.
He hammered home that there are “still tough weeks ahead, I must warn people there will be tough weeks to come.
“But I must stress that we have tough weeks to come now as we roll out the vaccine – the light will only really begin to dawn as we get those vaccinations up.”
DEADLY TOLL
The third-highest daily death toll was reported on January 13, when 1,564 people, who tested positive within 28 days, lost their lives to the virus.
Yesterday’s figures were less than last Tuesday when 45,533 new infections were recorded alongside 1,243 deaths.
Today in Scotland there were 92 deaths with 1,656 new infections.
While in Wales there were 1,283 new cases with 44 confirmed deaths.
NHS England reported a further 1,027 Covid-19 hospital deaths occurring over 14 dates.
1,012 were reported last Wednesday, 674 two weeks ago and 494 three weeks ago.
It comes as…
It was announced today that hospitals could be forced to ration oxygen in the near future as Covid inpatients reach record highs.
Almost 38,000 Covid patients are in hospitals now, 79 per cent higher than the spring, and 3,900 are on life-supporting ventilators.
As pressure builds on the NHS, Dr David Strain said it’s “too late for solutions”, meaning doctors may have to make “tough decisions” on how to use oxygen.
It would be the first time the health service faced such a moral dilemma, which could leave doctors carrying guilt for years.
Dr Strain, a clinical lecturer at the University of Exeter and hospital doctor, told The Sun: “At some point in the not too distant future we may reach a point when it is not possible to pump enough oxygen through the hospital pipes to supply everyone who can potentially benefit from it.”
Meanwhile, experts have warned that the coronavirus deaths will only get worse in the coming days despite a fall in cases and the vaccine rollout.
Officials have now warned that further “record breaking days” could be on the cards due to the lag between people becoming infected and people being admitted to hospital.
Data from Public Health England (PHE) shows that across the country 96 per cent of local authorities have seen a drop in infection rates, with just four per cent seeing a rise.
Experts say the lockdown measures alongside the vaccine rollout are starting to take effect but that deaths won’t drop until the end of the month.
A total of 4,419,704 Covid-19 vaccinations had taken place in England between December 8 and January 19, according to provisional NHS England data, including first and second doses, which is a rise of 301,362 on Tuesday’s figures.
Of this number, 3,985,579 were the first dose of the vaccine, a rise of 298,3730 on Tuesday’s figures, while 434,125 were the second dose, an increase of 2,989.
The Pfizer/BioNTech jab and the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab continue to be given to Brits at mass vaccine centres and pharmacies up and down the country.
But the most up to date figures show that the number of people getting the jab has dropped off in recent days.
On Friday more than 324,000 people got the jab, compared to on Monday when 204,000 received them.