Scotland records no new coronavirus deaths for third day running as further 36 fatalities reported in UK
Scotland has recorded no coronavirus deaths for the third day running.
Across the UK, a further 36 fatalities were recorded on Sunday, bringing the total number of deaths to 43,550, according to the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).
The government figures do not include all deaths involving Covid-19 across the UK, which are thought to have passed 54,000.
The number of deaths reported is lower at the weekend due to a lag in recording.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon expressed "enormous relief" at the latest figures as the total number of fatalities in Scotland remain at 2,482.
Eight more people tested positive for the virus and 452 people are in Scottish hospitals with confirmed or suspected cases.
In England a further 18 people who tested positive for coronavirus have died in hospital, bringing the total number of confirmed reported deaths in hospitals in England to 28,653, NHS England said.
The deaths took place in people aged between 43 and 95 years old.
One patient, aged 48, had no known underlying health conditions.
The DHSC also said in the 24-hour period up to 9am on Sunday, 127,709 tests were carried out or dispatched, with 901 positive results.
Overall, a total of 9,195,132 tests have been carried out and 311,151 cases have been confirmed positive.
The figure for the number of people tested has been “temporarily paused to ensure consistent reporting” across all methods of testing.
The number has now been "temporarily paused" for several weeks.
It comes as more than 10 million people worldwide have tested positive for coronavirus, according to the Johns Hopkins University.
After a massive increase of more than one million cases since June 21, data now suggests 499,000 people have died from the virus worldwide – with more than 43,500 fatalities in the UK.
The latest figures come as Home Secretary Priti Patel warned the rise of mass gatherings witnessed in recent days was “unacceptable” and that risked a second deadly spike of the virus.
Ms Patel, in interviews with broadcasters, also confirmed reports that Leicester faced becoming the first area to have a local lockdown imposed following a surge in infections.
Police in London had to disperse crowds causing “significant disruptions” at two unlicensed music events in south London on Saturday night while the Liver Building in Liverpool was set on fire on Friday as fans gathered to celebrate Liverpool FC’s Premier League title win.
Highlighting another looming threat for a second wave, former Chief Scientific Adviser and SAGE committee member Sir Mark Walport told Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday that winter “might be risky”.
Asked whether a second spike was inevitable, he said: "When outbreaks occur they typically occur in clusters and we’re seeing certain work environments, for example, food processing factories, as being fairly common places for those clusters to rise."
"The common denominator is really being indoors, being crowded, being there for prolonged periods of time, noisy environments where people are coughing and shouting, and so there’s more droplet transmission."
Sir Mark Walport added: "It comes back to local control being really important to identify those clusters when they happen and clamp down on them quickly."
"We need to do everything we possibly can to avoid a widespread second wave."
"The evidence that the virus does transmit better in cold workplaces again suggests that winter might be quite a risky time again."
Asked if the virus could come back in winter when the NHS is under more pressure, Sir Mark said: “That is obviously a significant risk.”
He said that the virus probably lasts longer in the air and on surfaces in cold and wet environments.