Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said 759 people had died after testing positive for coronavirus by 5pm on Thursday, a jump of 181 people in 24 hours.
The toll, up 31 per cent in a day, is the seventh highest in the world after Italy, Spain, China, Iran, France and the US, according to a Reuters tally.
In England, patients were aged between 29 and 98 years old and all but four patients, aged between 82 and 91 years old, had underlying health conditions, health officials said.
DHSC also said 14,579 had tested positive for the virus in Britain. Earlier on Friday Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the country’s health minister Matt Hancock said they had tested positive after experiencing mild symptoms.
They are now both self isolating and working from home.
