A total of 28,734 people have died in hospitals, care homes and the wider community after testing positive for coronavirus in the UK as at Monday.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the figure was up by 288 from 28,446 the day before.
He also announced a new contact tracing app which will help medics and scientists track and trace the virus and ultimately help to ease lockdown measures and save lives.
The smartphone app began testing on the Isle of Wight on Monday as a new part of the Government’s test, track and trace strategy and will be central to its efforts in slowing the spread of coronavirus.
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Developed by NHSX, the health service’s tech innovation arm, the app will use Bluetooth to anonymously monitor and log when app users come into contact with each other.
The Government hopes to begin a national rollout of the app following the trial.
Users will input into the app when they have symptoms linked to Covid-19, and if the virus is suspected, they can then choose to share the proximity logs – the list of occasions the app detected contact with other users during the last 28 days – with the NHS.
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