UK coronavirus hospital deaths surpass 16,500 after another 449 patients die

Another 449 people who tested positive for COVID-19 have died in hospitals in Britain as of Sunday afternoon, bringing the total number of coronavirus-related deaths to 16,509, the Department of Health and Social Care said Monday.

As of Monday morning, 124,743 people have tested positive for the virus, marking a daily increase of 4,676, said the department.

Chairing Monday's Downing Street press briefing, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak told reporters that "there are encouraging signs we have been making progress."

"But before we consider it safe to adjust any of the current social distancing measures, we must be satisfied that we have met the five tests set out last week by the First Secretary (Dominic Raab)," he noted.

Those tests include: the NHS (National Health Service) can continue to cope; the daily death rate falls sustainably and consistently; the rate of infection is decreasing; the operational challenges have been met; and there is no risk of a second peak.

Back in March, Sunak unveiled the "coronavirus job retention scheme", marking an unprecedented scale of the British government's move to step in and help pay wages to protect jobs.

During the press briefing on Monday, Sunak announced that the scheme has opened for businesses, and by 4 p.m. (1500 GMT) more than 140,000 firms had applied.

Also on Monday, the British government announced a 1.25-billion-pound (1.55-billion-U.S. dollar) package to support innovative businesses in the country hit by the pandemic.

The government is not just protecting businesses now. It is sowing the seeds for recovery, Sunak told reporters.

The package includes a 500-million-pound (622-million-dollar) loan scheme for high-growth firms and 750-million-pound (933-million-dollar) targeted funding for small and medium sized businesses focusing on research and development.

As for testing, a Downing Street spokesman said earlier Monday that the government now has the capacity to carry out 36,000 coronavirus tests per day and avoiding a second peak of infections was the "big concern" as ministers approached the decision about easing the lockdown.

The second mega-lab at Alderley Park in Cheshire has begun to test thousands of patient samples a day for the virus, according to the Department of Health and Social Care.

The lab is part of what will be the biggest network of diagnostic testing facilities in British history, testing samples from drive-through test sites across the country, said the department.