The number of coronavirus deaths in the UK has risen to 463 as of Wednesday from 422 on Tuesday, the government said, adding that more than 9,500 COVID-19 cases have now been reported in the country.
The total number of coronavirus cases in the UK have risen to 9,529 as of Wednesday, compared to 8,077 cases as of Tuesday, the statement added.
The government is anticipating a peaking of coronavirus cases in Britain in the coming weeks and has appealed to manufacturers to supply the NHS with the appropriate requirements.
Britain had been in talks with over 3,000 businesses about supplying ventilators to quickly increase the health service’s capacity. The country’s existing stock of about 5,000-8,000 ventilators is inadequate if cases jump as predicted.
Britain has ordered 10,000 medical ventilators designed at breakneck speed by vacuum cleaner-maker Dyson, according to an internal email to Dyson’s staff, which was seen by Reuters.
Separately, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said on Thursday that 560,000 people had volunteered to help the NHS during the coronavirus crisis, more than double the number he had hoped to recruit.
Britain had on Tuesday issued a call for 250,000 volunteers to sign up to help the NHS and vulnerable people hit by the coronavirus crisis.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson ordered Britons on Monday to stay at home to halt the spread of the virus, imposing curbs on everyday life without precedent in peacetime.
