The UK has become the first European country to officially record more than 100,000 coronavirus deaths.
At the time of writing, there have been 103,602 deaths due to COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The UK is the fifth country in the world to pass 100,000 deaths, after the United States, Brazil, India and Mexico. Britain now has a higher coronavirus death rate per million people than any other country.
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‘I am deeply sorry for every life that has been lost and of course as prime minister I take full responsibility for everything that the government has done,’ said Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
‘We truly did everything we could and continue to do everything that we can to minimise loss of life and suffering in what has been a very, very difficult stage and a very, very difficult crisis for our country, and we will continue to do that.’
An additional 20,089 coronavirus cases were recorded on 26 January, a continued fall in the number of UK cases seen in recent days. The number of people in hospital remains high, as do the UK's daily death figures.
‘All those who died in hospital and care homes would have got expert care from nursing staff in their final days and hours. Often it will have been nurses who made the tragic calls to families and heard their hearts break on the line,’ said Dame Donna Kinnair, Chief Executive and General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing.
‘Many nurses shed a tear for them as they helped the next person in a similar position and applauded in the corridors when somebody else beat the odds to get off the ventilator and leave intensive care. It is with this very fresh in the mind that nursing staff ask the public to keep doing the right thing.’