UK Reports 854 New COVID-19 Deaths In Deadliest 24 Hours Yet

Elderly people wear protective masks as they walk down a street in London, on April 1, 2020. Justin Setterfield/Getty Images

Great Britain’s COVID-19 death toll has risen to 6,162 after 854 people died from the disease in the past 24 hours, according to various British news outlets, including The Guardian and Grimsby Live.

The new figures represent the UK’s highest daily death toll from COVID-19, the disease caused by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) virus, commonly known as the novel coronavirus.

The previous total was 5,373, both according to a dataset released by the UK Prime Minister’s office on April 6 and a running tally kept by Johns Hopkins.

On Monday, 439 COVID-19 deaths were recorded in the UK, which was down from 621 on Sunday and 708 on Saturday, according to the Prime Minister’s office data and Worldometers figures.

Medical staff are seen testing people at a COVID-19 test centre in Chessington, UK, on April 2, 2020. Reuters/Toby Melville/File Photo

British Prime Minister ‘Stable’ After Intensive Care

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson was stable in intensive care on Tuesday after receiving oxygen support to help him battle COVID-19, while his foreign minister led the government’s response to the accelerating outbreak.

“He is receiving standard oxygen treatment and breathing without any other assistance,” Johnson’s spokesman, who traditionally speaks without his name being published, told reporters.

“The prime minister has been stable overnight and remains in good spirits,” the spokesman said. “He has not required mechanical ventilation, or non-invasive respiratory support.”

Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson (R), Chris Whitty, Chief Medical Officer for England and Chief Scientific Adviser to the Government, Sir Patrick Vallance, arrive for a news conference on COVID-19, in London, UK, on March 3, 2020. Frank Augstein/Reuters

Johnson is the first leader of a major world power to suffer so drastically from coronavirus complications.

The 55-year-old politician was first admitted to hospital on Sunday night, after suffering from a high temperature and cough for over 10 days.

Downing Street said in a statement his condition worsened rapidly over 24 hours.

“Since Sunday evening, the Prime Minister has been under the care of doctors at St Thomas’ Hospital, in London, after being admitted with persistent symptoms of coronavirus,” Downing Street said.

“Over the course of this afternoon, the condition of the Prime Minister has worsened and, on the advice of his medical team, he has been moved to the Intensive Care Unit at the hospital,” the statement continued.

“The PM is receiving excellent care, and thanks all NHS staff for their hard work and dedication,” the statement said.

But the absence of Johnson, the first leader of a major power to be hospitalized after testing positive for COVID-19, has raised questions about who is truly in charge of the world’s fifth-largest economy at such a crucial time.

A UK government public health campaign message is displayed on a billboard in West London, as the spread of COVID-19 continues, in London, UK, on April 1, 2020. Reuters/Toby Melville/File Photo

While Britain has no formal succession plan should a prime minister become incapacitated, Johnson asked Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, 46, to deputise for him “where necessary,” Downing Street said.

Johnson’s personal battle with the virus comes as the country enters what scientists say is likely to be one of the most deadly weeks of the pandemic.

President Donald Trump, meanwhile, said he asked U.S. pharmaceutical companies working on experimental COVID-19 drugs to offer their help to Johnson’s doctors.

Reuters contributed to this report.