UK coronavirus death toll rises by 15 to 42,647

The UK’s official coronavirus death toll has risen by 15 in 24 hours to 42,647, Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) figures show.

This represents the lowest number of new fatalities announced since 15 March, more than a week before full lockdown was announced. However far fewer fatalities are typically announced on Sunday and Monday due to a lag in reporting at weekends.

The government’s tally only accounts for those who have tested positive for Covid-19. The latest Office for National Statistics figures, which includes all fatalities in which Covid-19 is on the death certificate, suggests the true toll is above 53,000.

In the 24-hour period up to 9am on Monday, 139,659 tests were sent out, with 958 positive results, the daily DHSC figures showed, bringing the total number of known cases to 305,289.

The figure for the actual number of people tested remains “temporarily paused to ensure consistent reporting” across all methods of testing after nearly a month.

It comes as Boris Johnson and his most senior ministers are meeting to finalise plans for reopening pubs, restaurants, hotels and restaurants next week on 4 July.

After heavy pressure from many within his own party, the prime minister is expected to announce a reduction of the two-metre social distancing rule in order to boost ailing profits once the hospitality industry reopens.

However, any reduction is likely to be conditional on public adherence to new measures to prevent the virus’s spread, such as mandatory face masks, physical barriers between tables or “guest-lists” at pubs and restaurants recording all visitors in order to be able to tell them to self-isolate in case of an outbreak.

Concerns have been raised over the efficacy of the test and trace system upon which the success of a further easing of lockdown is reliant.

While the latest available figures showed that for two weeks running a quarter of those testing positive were not contacted, prompting warnings of a “gaping hole” in the system, the health minister responsible for the NHSX app has admitted it may not be ready until winter, meaning many risky contacts between strangers will likely continue to be missed.

Meanwhile, security minister James Brokenshire has acknowledged the “concerning” situation in Germany, where fears have been raised over a second wave of cases.

The reproduction rate of Covid-19 in the country has spiked from 1.06 to 2.88 in the space of two days after a string of localised outbreaks, according to the nation's Robert Koch Institute for public health.

Asked for his response to the rise, Mr Brokenshire told the BBC: “It is concerning to see the situation in Germany and it’s why we are informed in our actions by experience from around the world, why the chief scientific officer, the chief medical officer, speak to their counterparts in different parts of the world to ensure that we are applying the best learning and the best experience in informing our next steps.”

In the UK, the government’s Joint Biosecurity Centre has reduced the coronavirus alert level from 4 to 3 – indicating that transmission is no longer regarded as high or rising exponentially.