By Covid deaths hit tragic milestone
The UK has hit a grim milestone in the pandemic with the announcement that the number of people who have died with coronavirus has passed 50,000.
A further 595 deaths were announced yesterday (Wednesday) – the highest number since May 12 – bringing the country’s total to 50,365.
The UK has been one of the countries hardest hit by the virus and the government has faced criticism over its handling of the crisis, with care homes ravaged by the virus and questions over whether the country entered lockdown too late in March.
The majority of the deaths came in the spring and the numbers rose rapidly in those early weeks of the pandemic, doubling ever four days at one point before peaking at 1,000 deaths a day in April.
It then fell as lockdown and other measures had an impact. At points during the summer, daily deaths were in the single figures before the virus rebounded.
Throughout the autumn, the number of deaths has been rising, albeit much more slowly than in the spring, with deaths doubling every two weeks or so at the moment.
