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In the UK, 357 persons died from Covid-19 on Thursday, taking the country's official total death count to 40,261. Figures from the UK's Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveal a much higher death toll, suggesting the UK's death toll from the virus currently exceeds 50,000. The UK is the second country to report more than 40,000 deaths; the first being the US with more than 108,000 fatalities. Italy, previously Europe's worst-hit country, has recorded 33,600 deaths from Covid-19. So far, about 5.2 million people have been tested in the UK, with 283,311 people testing positive.

Northern Ireland's first minister, Arlene Foster, has announced that Northern Ireland schools will be closed for at least 16 weeks. Northern Ireland now counts 34 coronavirus cases, with five new cases recorded on Saturday. After a meeting between senior ministers, Mrs Foster said that schools will close "when we are advised on the medical evidence". "Children will be at home for quite a considerable period of time, given that when we do close the schools they will be closed for at least 16 weeks. "Then of course you are into the summer period, so they will be off school for a very long time. "In my opinion schools should close now. I think we need to be consistent across this island. "I think the fact that you can have two schools a mile apart and one school's open and one school's closed that's a very confusing picture and a very confusing message for the public."

The number of people in the UK testing positive for Covid-19 has risen from 798 on Friday to 1,140 (out of 37,746 people tested) on Saturday. The death toll in the UK has doubled in the last 24 hours, with 10 more patients dying after having contracted the disease. The UK government's chief medical adviser, Prof Whitty, said the patients were all in "at-risk" groups. The deceased were being treated in hospitals in Buckinghamshire, Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Leicester, London and Chester.  The UK government's chief medical adviser said: "I understand this increase in the number of deaths linked to Covid-19 will be a cause for concern for many. The public should know every measure we are taking is seeking to save lives and protect the most vulnerable." On Friday, the UK government said it estimated the true number of cases in the country to be around 5,000 to 10,000. The latest coronavirus cases in England are a newborn baby and its mother.