Boris Johnson's government promises 100,000 coronavirus tests a day as COVID-19 deaths reach a new high

12:29 AM

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  • April 2: 568 more people have died after testing positive for the coronavirus in the UK.
  • The UK has reported a total of 33,718 coronavirus cases and 2,921 deaths linked to the virus.
  • UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson will remain in isolation after continuing to experience symptoms of the coronavirus.
  • Johnson's government promises 100,000 coronavirus tests a day following a day of intense criticism in the British press.
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock has promised that the NHS will carry out 100,000 coronavirus tests a day in England, following intense criticism of the government's slow response to the outbreak.

Hancock made the announcement on April 2, after a week in isolation after contracting COVID-19.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to remain in coronavirus isolation for longer than the required 7 day period as he continues to experience "mild symptoms" of the COVID-19 disease, his spokesperson indicated on Thursday April, 2.

The news came as the UK press turned on his government after the worst day of the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK, with more than 500 new deaths.

The Times' front page labeled it "chaos" and Metro called the situation "ridiculous" — harsh words from normally supportive papers.

On Thursday April 2, the National Health Service confirmed that 569 people had died after testing positive for the coronavirus in the previous 24 hours.

This is the largest daily number of fatalities since the outbreak began.

A total of 33,718 people have been diagnosed with coronavirus in the UK and 2,921 people have died, the Department for Health confirmed.

The latest figures came as UK Prime Minister Johnson came under growing pressure to defend his government's preparations for the outbreak, as the country trails behind other European governments in both testing and medical provisions.

His spokesperson on Thursday (April 2) said: "We acknowledge that more needs to be done in relation to testing and we need a significant increase in testing."

Read on for the latest updates on how the virus is spreading across Britain.

For the latest global case total, death toll, and travel information, see Business Insider's live updates here.

Kieran Corcoran, Alison Millington, and Rachel Hosie contributed reporting to this post.

UK promises 100,000 coronavirus tests a day by the end of the month

Claudio Furlan/LaPresse via AP

The Health Secretary Matt Hancock on Thursday (April 2) responded to growing criticism of the rate of coronavirus testing in the UK by promising that the government would manage to increase testing by over ten times in England by the end of April.

"The new national effort for testing will ensure that we can get tests for everyone who needs them," Hancock said at the daily Downing Street conference.

"And I'm delighted that the pharmaceutical industry is rising to this challenge and putting unprecedented resources into testing. Taken together, I am now setting the goal of 100,000 tests per day by the end of this month. That is the goal, and I am determined that we will get there."

Hancock, who has been in isolation for the past week since testing positive for COVID-19, confirmed that the increase would include both the testing of new infections as well as antibody testing to determine whether individuals had gained immunity to the virus.

 



The UK will write off billions of pounds of NHS debt

REUTERS/Hannah Mckay

The UK government will write off £13.4 billion of historic National Health Service debt, Matt Hancock has announced, in a significant intervention which he said was designed to "help NHS trusts deliver what's needed without worrying about past finances."

The National Health Service is composed of different trusts which are each run separately, and many of them have overspent as they struggled to deal with the pressures of squeezed funding and an ageing population.

Hancock said: "This landmark step will not only put the NHS in a stronger position to be able to respond to this global coronavirus pandemic, but it will ensure the NHS has stronger foundations for the future too."

 



A further 569 people in the UK have died with the coronavirus

getty

A further 569 people in the UK have died after testing positive for the coronavirus, the Department of Health announced on Wednesday, April 2.

This is the largest daily number of fatalities recorded since the outbreak began in the UK.

In total the UK has now confirmed 33,718 coronavirus cases and 2,921 fatalities. The number of fatalities does not include deaths that have taken place outside of hospitals.




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