Guidance

Number of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases and risk in the UK

The latest number of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases and risk level in the UK.

Published 24 January 2020
Last updated 25 April 2020 — see all updates
From:
Department of Health and Social Care and Public Health England

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Number of cases and deaths

As of 9am on 25 April, 640,792 tests have concluded, with 28,760 tests carried out on 24 April.

517,836 people have been tested, of whom 148,377 have tested positive.

As of 5pm on 24 April, of those hospitalised in the UK who tested positive for coronavirus, 20,319 have died.

Tests People tested Positive Deaths
Daily 28,760 23,115 4,913 813
Total 640,792 517,836 148,377 20,319

Breakdown of testing by 3 of the testing strategy ‘pillars’

Daily

Pillar 1 Pillar 2 Pillar 4 Total
People tested 16,871 6,244 - 23,115
Tests 21,981 6,244 535 28,760
Positive 3,583 1,330 - 4,913

Cumulative

Pillar 1 Pillar 2 Pillar 4 Total
People tested 454,492 63,344 - 517,836
Tests 570,975 63,344 6,473 640,792
Positive 130,228 18,149 - 148,377

Pillar 1: swab testing in PHE labs and NHS hospitals for those with a medical need and the most critical workers and their families

Pillar 2: swab testing for key workers and their households

Pillar 4: serology testing: a national surveillance programme for population blood testing, using a high-accuracy antibody test operated by Public Health England (PHE) to find out what proportion of the population have had the virus

See the government’s national testing strategy for more information on the different pillars.

25 April notes

The difference between the cumulative numbers from today and yesterday for tests is 1 higher than the daily increase figure. This is due to a revision of historic test data by PHE.

The difference between the cumulative numbers from today and yesterday for people tested is 50,499 higher than the daily increase figure. Cumulative testing figures include 50,499 retrospective reports of people who tested negative between 31 January and 24 April. These are now available due to a new reporting system that includes more laboratories reporting all test results. The overnight change reported is based on figures using the new system. The reporting system of positive results remains stable and no issues have been identified with this data.

General notes

Data on UK positive and negative tests and data on deaths is updated on this page daily at 2pm or shortly after. The figures for test results and for deaths are compiled from different sources. This is why the figures for deaths are reported from an earlier point in time than the figures for test results.

For clinical reasons some people are tested more than once. Therefore the number of tests will completed will be higher than the number of people tested. For serology testing (pillar 4), some protocols allow for samples to be tested repeatedly. Samples are anonymised prior to sending to the lab for testing, therefore the identification of individuals tested is not possible in the current reporting process, and so the number of people tested is not reported.

Daily totals reflect actual counts reported for the previous day. Each day there may be corrections to previous reported figures. This means that previously published daily counts will not necessarily sum to the latest cumulative figure. It also means that today’s cumulative count may not match the previous day’s cumulative count plus today’s daily count.

Incorporating figures on swab testing for critical key workers

From 10 April, figures for positive tests include positive case results from swab testing for key workers and their households (pillar 2). Data on positive case results from swab testing for key workers and their households between 25 March and 9 April is available below.

Date Positive
Wed 25 March 0
Thurs 26 March 0
Fri 27 March 5
Sat 28 March 10
Sun 29 March 69
Mon 30 March 46
Tues 31 March 241
Wed 1 April 243
Thurs 2 April 278
Fri 3 April 222
Sat 4 April 265
Sun 5 April 296
Mon 6 April 341
Tues 7 April 254
Wed 8 April 374
Thurs 9 April 331

Notes on deaths figures

The figures on deaths relate in almost all cases to patients who have died in hospital and who have tested positive for COVID-19. Slight differences in reporting in devolved administrations may mean that they include a small number of deaths outside hospital. The figures are compiled from validated data provided by NHS England and Improvement, Health Protection Scotland, Public Health Wales and the Public Health Agency (Northern Ireland).

These figures do not include deaths outside hospital, such as those in care homes, except as indicated above. This approach allows us to compile deaths data on a daily basis using up-to-date figures. The data includes confirmed cases reported as at 5pm the previous day. The amount of time between occurrence of death and reporting in these figures may vary slightly and in some cases could be a few days, so figures at 5pm may not include all deaths for that day.

In addition to these figures, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes weekly counts of deaths in which COVID-19 was mentioned on the death certificate. This publication is issued every Tuesday, starting on 31 March. It includes cases outside hospital and also some cases where COVID-19 is suspected but no test has taken place. ONS data will initially cover England and Wales only and will report on deaths registered up to 11 days before publication, so up to 20 March for their first release.

Material published by PHE

PHE updates a daily dashboard to show trends in UK data on positive tests and deaths and to provide confirmed cases in each local authority and NHS region in England.

Risk level

The risk to the UK has been raised to high.

Published 24 January 2020
Last updated 25 April 2020 + show all updates

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  15. Changed the total number of tests concluded from 352,974 to 350,575. The updated figure only includes tests carried out under pillars 1 and 2 of the government’s national testing strategy

  16. In breakdown by pillar section, corrected total people tested figure in cumulative table

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  29. Added information on how figures for deaths are compiled and reported.

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  35. Updated figures. From today, 26 March 2020, recorded deaths will be as of 5pm the previous day.

  36. Update to the figures for testing in UK

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  38. Updated test result figures.

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  49. Update on case numbers, those who have tested positive and those who have sadly died.

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  52. The UK risk level has been raised to high.

  53. Added new guidance for people with symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19).

  54. Updated test result figures.

  55. Update to figures.

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  57. Updated Italy advice.

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  59. "to be determined" figures corrected - from 22 to 20.

  60. Updated lockdown areas.

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  63. Now with regional breakdown

  64. Update on stats and switch to 7am to improve reporting. Regionalised data to be published later today

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  66. Updated returning traveller advice for Italy.

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  72. Updated stats and also made clear from now on stats will be accurate as of 0900 that day for consistency and accuracy.

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  91. Updated figures for those tested in the UK.

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  93. Updated statistics on coronavirus tests.

  94. Fourth case of coronavirus in England

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  96. Updated figures for coronavirus checks and removal figures of passengers returned from Wuhan as all are outside the incubation period.

  97. Updated advice from the Chief Medical Officer.

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  101. Added link to FCO travel advice for British nationals.

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  103. Added Northern Ireland contact number for those who have returned from Wuhan or Hubei Province in the last 14 days, or from elsewhere in China and have developed symptoms.

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  107. Added coronavirus public information video.

  108. Updated the advice for travellers from China.

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  110. Update regarding first confirmed cases of coronavirus in England.

  111. Addition of CMO statement

  112. Updated information on risk level

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