coronavirus has increased by 66 people in 24 hours. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said 45,119 people had died in hospitals, care homes and the wider community after testing positive for coronavirus in the UK as of 5pm on Wednesday – up by 66 from 45,053 the previous day.The figures do not include all deaths involving coronavirus across the UK, which is thought to have now passed 55,500.The DHSC also said that in the 24-hour period up to 9am on Thursday, there had been a further 642 lab-confirmed UK cases.Overall, a total of 292,552 cases have been confirmed.Today's rise in deaths is down from a week ago, where there was a rise of 85.It comes as the UK's Chief Scientific Adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance, said the outcome of.