A total of 32,692 people who tested positive for the new coronavirus have died in the United Kingdom, a rise of 627 in a 24-hour period, the country’s health ministry said on Tuesday.
The data came a day after Prime Minister Boris Johnson set out a gradual plan to get Britain back to work, including advice on wearing home-made face coverings – though his attempt to lift the coronavirus lockdown prompted confusion.
The leaders of the devolved nations – Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – said that the advice given by Johnson only applied to England, telling people to continue to stay at home.
Such a high U.K. death toll increases the pressure on Johnson. Opposition parties say he was too slow to impose a lockdown, too slow to introduce mass testing and too slow to get enough protective equipment to hospitals.
The data painted a grim picture in care homes, which have been especially hard hit by the virus.
