The number of people who have died in the UK after testing positive for coronavirus has reached 43,550, after a further 36 deaths were reported.
The figures, released by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) on Sunday afternoon, relate to those who have died in hospitals, care home, the wider community and other settings.
Public Health England reported an additional 18 deaths in the country’s hospitals, while Wales reported no new deaths, and Northern Ireland confirmed just one.
Meanwhile, Scotland reported no new deaths for the third day running – with Nicola Sturgeon describing the news as an “enormous relief”.
The Government figures do not include all deaths involving Covid-19 across the UK, which are thought to have passed 54,000.
The statistics also show that 901 more people have tested positive for the virus across the nation, bringing the total since the outbreak began to 311,151.
However, just eight more people tested positive for the virus in Scotland, according to the country’s latest figures.
Ms Sturgeon tweeted her response to the landmark, urging Scots to not to let the encouraging numbers lull them into a false sense of security.
She wrote: “Three days in a row with no registered Covid deaths in Scotland. The sense of relief that I – & I’m sure all of us – feel as these numbers fall is enormous.
“But it’s coupled with an anxiety that we do all we can to keep Covid under control. So please follow the rules and #StaySafe.”
3 days in a row with no registered COVID deaths in Scotland. The sense of relief that I – & I’m sure all of us – feel as these numbers fall is enormous. But it’s coupled with an anxiety that we do all we can to keep COVID under control. So please follow the rules and #StaySafe https://t.co/b2XXn16BxT
— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) June 28, 2020
The DHSC also said in the 24-hour period up to 9am on Sunday, 127,709 tests were carried out or dispatched across the UK, with 901 positive results.
Overall, a total of 9,195,132 tests have been carried out.
The figure for the number of people tested has been “temporarily paused to ensure consistent reporting” across all methods of testing.
