UK coronavirus death toll climbs to over 19,000
UK coronavirus death toll climbs to over 19,000 ON APRIL 24, 202010:27 PMIN CORONAVIRUS UPDATES The death toll in Britain from the coronavirus outbreak neared 20,000 on Friday as the government faced calls for greater transparency for its exit strategy from stringent social distancing measures. The health ministry said 684 more people had died in the 24-hour period to 1600 GMT on Thursday, taking the number of deaths for COVID-19 in hospital to 19,506. The figure is more than the 616 reported the previous day and comes after the government claimed the virus had hit its peak and was trending downwards. But it is still one of the worst-hit countries in the world, and there are fears the true figures could be higher when deaths in the community are taken into account. Britain has been under lockdown for a month, with businesses shut and people ordered to stay in their homes except to buy essential goods and medicine or to take daily exercise. A...