London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Feb 24, 2026

Five-year-old among latest UK coronavirus victims

A five-year-old child with underlying health conditions is among those with coronavirus whose deaths were reported in the past day, Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove has said.

The latest figures show 4,313 people with the virus have now died in the UK - up by 708 on Friday's figure.

Mr Gove said hundreds of ventilators were being manufactured every day and more had been sourced from abroad.

People have been warned to stay at home despite the warm weather this weekend.

Speaking alongside Mr Gove at the government's daily briefing, NHS England medical director Stephen Powis said: "The sun might be out, but that does not mean you should be out."

He said there was some evidence that social distancing measures were reducing transmission, and that the latest figures suggested new cases had begun to "stabilise".

However, he stressed that there was "no room for complacency".

During the briefing, Mr Gove paid tribute to one of the youngest victims of the outbreak.

"Our thoughts today are also with the family of the five-year-old with underlying health conditions who has tragically died," he said.

The recent trends in deaths (doubling roughly every 3.5 days) would have predicted about 800 deaths today.

Remember that doubling every few days means that we should expect to see record new highs regularly.

Scientists remind us to look for evidence that the growth is slowing down - the first step on the journey to falling numbers of deaths.

So, compared to that projection, there is a potential silver lining to these figures - if the pattern continues.

But one day of below-trend growth is far too soon to know for sure.

It takes over three weeks from infection to death to being reported in these figures.

So while we can hope to see the effects of pre-lockdown social distancing soon, it will take longer for the effect of the lockdown, announced on 23 March, to become apparent.

There are now 41,903 confirmed cases in the UK, the Department of Health said.

The latest deaths in the UK include a further 46 people in Scotland, 13 people in Wales and eight more in Northern Ireland.

There were 212 deaths in the Midlands, more than in London, where there were 127.

Mr Gove said seven healthcare professionals have now died.

Urging people to stay at home, he called on the public to remember two NHS nurses who died on Friday after contracting Covid-19.

He said: "Each had three young children. They died doing everything they could to help the sick and suffering."

Aimee O'Rourke, 39, died at the Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother (QEQM) Hospital in Margate, Kent, while Areema Nasreen, 36, died after spending weeks in intensive care at Walsall Manor Hospital.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Boris Johnson remains in self-isolation in Downing Street after testing positive for coronavirus while his pregnant partner Carrie Symonds tweeted that she has spent a week in bed with the main symptoms.

She said she had not been tested for the virus.

Prof Powis said people were adhering to social distancing measures, and that public transport use remains "extremely low".

School attendance was down as low as 2%, Mr Gove added.

However, Prof Powis added that people must "resist the temptation" to go out in the warm weather.

Brighton and Hove City Council tweeted on Saturday that too many people were meeting up with friends on the seafront, making social distancing "impossible".

Sussex Police said that two people had been summonsed to attend court after having a barbecue on Hove beach.

Mr Gove said there was "evidence to suggest" there has been a lower level of compliance for some young people.

He said it might be that some of the messages and channels the government has used have not reached some segments of the population, adding: "It may be that young people feel that they are less likely to be affected and less likely to be infected."

Also in the briefing, Mr Gove said that ventilators - in addition to those being made in the UK - had been sourced from abroad, including 300 that arrived from China on Saturday.

He said the government had also secured new non-invasive ventilation capacity with the help of UK manufacturers.

This would help to ensure patients do not need to be placed on invasive ventilators, which involve patients being intubated and supported to breathe with machinery taking oxygen directly into their lungs.

Mr Gove said a team from University College London working with Mercedes Benz have produced a new device which has been clinically approved.

"They produced 250 yesterday, will produce the same number today and tomorrow, rising to 1,000 a day next week," he said.

He branded conspiracy theories spread on social media blaming new 5G masts for the spread of Covid-19 "dangerous nonsense".


In other developments:

Sir Keir Starmer has been elected as the new leader of the Labour Party, with members learning the outcome via e-mail after a specially planned conference was cancelled
Up to 4,000 prisoners in England and Wales could be released from jails in England and Wales early because of the coronavirus, the prison service said
Two members of staff at Pentonville Prison in north London have died after suffering from Covid-19 symptoms, according to the Prison Officers' Association
Thirteen residents at a Glasgow care home have died in one week following a suspected outbreak of coronavirus
Mobile phone masts in Birmingham and Merseyside have been set on fire over false claims linking coronavirus to 5G
Aldi has said it will lift purchase restrictions on almost all of its products from Monday - with the exception of hand wash, shower gel and UHT milk
An NHS trust has been told it will have to pay almost £10,000 a month to provide families with free phone calls during the pandemic
An increasing number of councils are instructing dog owners to ensure their pets are always on a lead in parks and open spaces
Official data on testing in hospitals suggests that England is lagging behind Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
The British Embassy in Manila has announced a plan to repatriate about 600 UK nationals stuck in the Philippines, after thousands of Britons became stranded around the globe amid the pandemic
The Queen is due to make a rare special address to the nation on TV, radio and social media at 20:00 BST on Sunday

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
I Gave Andrew a Nude Massage Inside Buckingham Palace
UK Economy Faces Acute Strain as Trump’s Global Tariff Reshapes Trade Landscape
UK Signals Retaliation Is Possible as New US Tariff Policy Threatens Trade Stability
British Police Arrest Former Ambassador Peter Mandelson in Epstein-Related Misconduct Probe
Australia Officially Supports Proposal to Remove Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor from Royal Succession
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan remains silent on ISIS brides' resettlement plans in Melbourne
Former UK Ambassador Peter Mandelson Arrested in Connection with Jeffrey Epstein
Jacob Rees Mogg afraid to talk about Peter Mandelson arrest on “suspicion of misconduct in a public office” (Pedophilia, corruption, etc.)
United Nations Calls for Global Action Against Disinformation and Hate Speech Online
Tucker Carlson warns of an inevitable clash in Western societies over mass migration
President Trump warns countries against abandoning recent trade deals with the US
Diverging Polls Show Mixed Signals on UK Economic Revival as Confidence Remains Fragile
Spotify Expands AI-Driven ‘Prompted Playlists’ Feature to the United Kingdom and Other Markets
Greens and Reform UK Surge in Manchester By-Election, Threatening Labour’s Historic Stronghold
UK Businesses Push for Closer European Trade Links Amid Renewed US Tariff Uncertainty
Deloitte Global Overhaul Sparks Leadership Contest in the United Kingdom
University of Kentucky and Microsoft to Showcase Campus-Wide AI Innovation
UK Food System Faces Acute Vulnerability to Shocks, Experts Warn
Reform UK’s Proposed ICE-Style Deportation Scheme Triggers Sharp Backlash
U.S. Global Tariff Push Leaves Britain, Australia and Others Facing Higher Costs and Trade Strain
UK Police Officers Guarded 2010 Epstein Dinner Attended by Prince Andrew, Reports Say
US Trade Representative Affirms Commitment to Existing Tariff Agreements with UK and Other Partners
Activists at the Louvre hung a framed Reuters photograph of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor slumped in the back of a car leaving a police station on the day of his arrest
The royal biographer said that he expected the police to 'look at the money trail' - including Sarah Ferguson borrowing money from Epstein
A Protestor screams in NYC: “Bill Gates is on the Epstein’s List…”
FBI and Secret Service Hold Press Conference After Shooting Incident at Mar-a-Lago
Mark Zuckerberg Testifies in Trial Over Social Media's Impact on Children's Mental Health
Maggie Oliver exposes Keir Starmer using letters to close child rapists investigations
Kouri Richie's wrote a children’s book to help her sons grieve the death of their father. Now she’ll stand trial for his murder
New York Braces for Major Snowstorm With Up to 18 Inches Forecast and Blizzard Warnings Issued
Mexican Military Kills CJNG Leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes as Violence Erupts Across Jalisco
Metropolitan Police Deploys Palantir-Powered AI to Flag Potential Officer Misconduct
UK Parliament Rebukes Police Over Ban on Israeli Football Fans
Britain Emerges Among a Small Group of Nations Without a Religious Majority
UK’s Manufacturing Base at Risk as Soaring Energy Costs Weigh on Industry
Matt Goodwin’s Unconventional Campaign for Reform UK in the Gorton and Denton By-Election
US Military Movements in the UK Spark Speculation Over Preparations Related to Iran Tensions
UK Faces Significant Economic Risk From Trump’s New Global Tariff Regime
UK Defence Secretary Signals Intent to Deploy British Troops to Ukraine
UK Students Mark Lunar New Year as Universities Adjust to New Equality Compliance Rules
UK Government Weighs Removing Prince Andrew from Line of Succession After Arrest
Prince Andrew’s Arrest in UK Rekindles Scrutiny Over US Handling of Epstein Records
Trump’s Strategic Warning to UK Over Chagos Islands Deal Sparks Diplomatic Whiplash
Starmer Government Postpones Local Elections Affecting 4.5 Million Voters
UK Economy Remains Fragile Despite Recent Upturn in Headline Indicators
UK Businesses Face Fresh Uncertainty Following US Tariff Ruling
Reform UK’s Senior Figures Face Scrutiny Over Remarks on Women and Family Policy
UK Electric Vehicle Drive Threatened by Shortage of 44,000 Qualified Technicians
University of Kentucky Trustees Advance Academic Reforms and Approve Coliseum Plaza Purchase
Boris Johnson Calls for Immediate Deployment of UK Troops to Support Ukraine
×