It is too soon to make reliable international comparisons on death tolls from the new coronavirus, British foreign minister Dominic Raab said on Tuesday (5).
Figures released earlier on Tuesday showed the UK has overtaken Italy to report the highest official death toll from the new coronavirus in Europe.
Asked about the prospect of Britain being the hardest hit country in Europe, Raab told a news conference: "I don’t think we will get a real verdict on how well countries have done until the pandemic is over."
"I don’t think you can make the international comparisons ... at this stage, at least I don’t think you can make them reliably," he added, citing the fact different countries have different ways of counting deaths.
Britain's Covid-19 death toll has risen by 693 to 29,427, according to figures announced on Tuesday by Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab.
The figures, which reflect deaths in all settings following positive tests for coronavirus, cover the period up to 1600 GMT on Monday (4).
(Reuters)
Health secretary Wes StreetingPic credit: Gettyimages
Atul Patel
Pritee Panchmatia