UK records highest COVID-19 death toll since May

LONDON

The UK reported 397 more deaths Tuesday from the coronavirus, the highest daily toll since May.

This brings the nationwide death toll to 47,250.

The government data also showed that there were 20,018 more cases of people testing positive for coronavirus, bringing the total to 1,073,882.

Meanwhile, the entire population of Liverpool city will be offered regular coronavirus testing in a new pilot scheme.

The city is a coronavirus hotspot and has been in Tier 3 restrictions, the highest level, for almost three weeks.

The military will be drafted in to work alongside National Health Service workers, and the pilot scheme will use newly developed rapid tests. The scheme will start on Friday.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: "I want to thank the civic leaders of Liverpool for volunteering to join the UK's first city-wide population testing pilot and the people of Liverpool for taking part.

"These tests will help identify thousands of people in the city who don't have symptoms but can still infect others without knowing.

"Dependent on their success in Liverpool, we will aim to distribute millions of these new rapid tests between now and Christmas and empower local communities to use them to drive down transmission in their areas.

"It is early days, but this kind of mass testing has the potential to be a powerful new weapon in our fight against COVID-19."

Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson said: "We are pleased that our numerous conversations have resulted in Liverpool becoming a pilot for mass testing, which will help to quickly identify people who have the virus and reduce transmission substantially.

"We are seeing a slow reduction in figures in Liverpool which shows we are on the right path and residents and businesses are working together and following guidelines for the greater good.

"We hope this new initiative boosts our efforts, and we will continue to see the numbers of positive cases drop across the city."