A FURTHER 288 people have died in the UK after testing positive for Covid-19, the Health Secretary has confirmed.
It brings the total to 28,734, though estimates including people with suspected coronavirus are far higher.
In the 24 hours up to 9am there were 85,186 tests for Covid-19, and a total of 1,291,591 tests, Matt Hancock said.
He said the increase of 288 deaths was "lower than at any point since the end of March" but he pointed out that "reported figures tend to be lower over the weekend so we do expect that number to rise".
Setting out the new test, track and trace programme the Tory minister claimed it would "hunt down and isolate the virus so it is unable to reproduce".
"Crucially, test, track and trace allows us to take a more targeted approach to lockdown while still safely containing the disease," he said.
"Creating this system is a huge national undertaking of unprecedented scale and complexity."
It would involve an "army" of human contact tracers and the new app which is being trialled in the Isle of Wight.
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