Schools closed in Scotland as UK coronavirus death toll rises

The death toll from coronavirus passed the 100 mark across the UK, as schools began closing and ministers came under pressure to offer more help to the less well-off.

A further 32 people in England have died after testing positive for Covid-19, NHS England said, while a further death was reported in Scotland, taking the UK total to 104.

It comes as First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced schools in Scotland are to close by the end of the week.

Boris Johnson also told MPs during Prime Minister's Questions that further decisions on schools in England are “to be taken imminently”.

There is the possibility of some schools staying open for the pupils of key workers - which would include NHS staff.

Also in the Commons, Mr Johnson promised to protect private renters from eviction due to the spread of coronavirus as he said the Government was overseeing “unprecedented” steps to manage the crisis.

The Prime Minister said further measures would be introduced to protect the vulnerable and those who face job losses, adding: “This is a national emergency and we're asking the public to do things, to take actions in a way that is really unprecedented for a government in peacetime and perhaps even unprecedented in the last century.”

Mr Johnson also said the NHS was now moving to carrying out 25,000 coronavirus tests per day.

He added: “There is a massive effort going on, comparable to the effort to build enough ventilators, to ensure that we have adequate supplies of PPE equipment not just now, but throughout the outbreak.”

In other developments:

• A third patient in Scotland diagnosed with Covid-19 has died.

• The FTSE 100 continued its downward slump with a more than 5% drop at about 9.30am on Wednesday, wiping around #68 billion off the value of London's biggest companies.

• A baby has tested positive for Covid-19 at the James Paget University Hospital in Gorleston in Norfolk, the second reported UK case among infants.

• The youngest person to die in the UK to date has been named as 45-year-old Craig Ruston, who had motor neurone disease. He died on Monday after his chest infection was diagnosed as Covid-19.

• Filming on EastEnders and BBC Studios dramas including Casualty, Doctors, Holby City, Pobol y Cwm and River City will be postponed until further notice.

• Professor Neil Ferguson, of Imperial College London, one of the lead authors on a paper which predicted 250,000 people could die if the UK did not switch tactics, said he is self-isolating after developing symptoms of Covid-19.

• Sainsbury's became the latest supermarket to announce measures to help the elderly and vulnerable as store shelves became severely depleted.

• Pubs and restaurants were told they will be allowed to be turned into takeaways to help provide food for people in self-isolation.

• Global confirmed cases of coronavirus have topped 200,000 worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University.

More events have also been cancelled across the UK, including the Glastonbury festival in June.

Hear all the latest news from across the North of Scotland on MFR. Listen on FM, via our Rayo app, DAB, or smart speaker.

• coronavirus