(Bloomberg) --
The U.K. reported a further 938 deaths from the coronavirus on Wednesday as the rate at which people are succumbing to the pandemic continues to increase.
Scientists predict the country will enter the peak of the outbreak over the next week and its partial lockdown is expected to be extended by weeks. About 19% more people perished yesterday compared with a day earlier.
The number of new cases is “not accelerating out of control” on a day-by-day basis, U.K. scientific adviser Angela McLean said at a press conference in Downing Street. In terms of hospitalizations, “the rate at which this is rising is definitely getting slower and it looks like we're beginning to get towards a flat curve,” she said.
In total, 60,733 people have tested positive for the illness, up from 55,242 reported on Tuesday, according to the latest figures from the Department of Heath and Social Care. That's a slight increase in the rate of growth.
Before today's figures, the rate of increase in U.K. cases had been decelerating, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Pandemic Grips Britain With Johnson Still in Intensive Care
Some 14,682 tests were conducted in the country on April 7, more than the 14,006 conducted the day before. The U.K. aims to conduct 100,000 tests a day by the end of April, seeking to replicate the mass screening seen in countries such as South Korea and Germany.
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