“As of 9am on 16 April, 417,649 tests have concluded, with 18,665 tests carried out on 15 April. 327,608 people have been tested, of whom 103,093 tested positive. As of 5pm on 15 April, of those hospitalized in the UK who tested positive for coronavirus, 13,729 have died,” the Department announced on its website on Thursday.

Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) spread to the United Kingdom in January. Transmission within the UK was confirmed in February, leading to an epidemic with a rapid increase in cases in March.

The U.K. closed all schools except for children of key workers and vulnerable children. And all restaurants, pubs, clubs and indoor sport and leisure facilities were ordered to close, though delivery and take-out chains were allowed to remain open.

Then, the government announced that these measures were to be tightened further, with wide-ranging restrictions made on freedom of movement, enforceable in law, resulting in the Coronavirus Act 2020, the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) Regulations 2020 and other similar statutory instruments covering the other home nations. (ILKHA)