Coronavirus claims another 45 lives of the UK Cypriot Community as their death toll reaches over 400

The number of coronavirus cases and deaths continues to increase rapidly in the UK 45UK Cypriots have died this week due to the coronavirus.

In London, 45 community members succumbed to the coronavirus in the last week. 30 Greek Cypriots and 15 Turkish Cypriots.

To date, we estimate 404 UK Cypriots (Greek, Turkish and Maronite) in total have died from Coronavirus. The figure includes 366 in London and 38 outside London. Parikiaki’s figures  are arrived after contacting local hospitals, Churches and Turkish Cypriot media and community, funeral directors and death announcements that have come to our newspaper

The total fatalities now include 223 UK Greek Cypriots, 143 UK Turkish Cypriots and one UK Maronite Cypriot, all from London. Included are five cases of married couples, two cases of two brothers and two cases of fathers and sons.

Outside London, there were eleven UK Greek Cypriots and one UK Turkish Cypriot from Birmingham, three UK Greek Cypriots from Weston-super-Mare, who were all from the same family, one from Derby, one from Lowestoft, one from Cambridge, one from Cheltenham, four UK Greek Cypriots and one UK Maronite Cypriot, one UK Greek Cypriot from Luton, one from Southend, one from Glasgow, one from Newport, one from Leeds, one from Hemel Hempstead, one from Manchester one from Middlesborough, one from Margate and one from Wakefield. Four UK Turkish Cypriots, one each from Colchester, Maidstone, two Northampton and Suffolk, passed away, bringing the total number of UK Cypriot deaths outside London to 38.

The number of new daily confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK has topped 60,000 for the first time since the pandemic started.

According to government figures on Tuesday, the number of people who tested positive was 60,916.

One in 50 people in private households in England had Covid last week – and one in 30 in London, according to estimates based on the latest data.

A further 830 people have also died within 28 days of a positive test.

It comes as England and Scotland announced new strict lockdowns, with people told to stay at home.

At a press conference at Downing Street on Tuesday, Boris Johnson said 1.3 million people had now been vaccinated in the UK – including 23% of over 80s in England, some 650,000 people.

But he said more than one million people were currently infected – with the number of patients in hospitals 40% higher than in the first peak.

The government’s chief medical adviser Prof Chris Whitty cited the Office for National Statistics’ random sampling data for England as showing how widespread the virus is.

“We’re now into a situation where across the country as a whole, roughly one in 50 people have got the virus, higher in some parts of the country, lower in others,” he said.

That latest estimates include:

One in 30 for LondonOne in 45 for south-east England, eastern England and north-west EnglandOne in 50 for the East MidlandsOne in 60 for north-east EnglandOne in 65 for the West Midlands and Yorkshire and the HumberOne in 135 for south-west England

Prime Minister addressing parliament before lawmakers vote on the measures introduced earlier this week, Johnson defended his decision to implement the new lockdown at the time he did, saying the new, more contagious, coronavirus variant offered little choice.

Trying to head off criticism that his decision to close primary schools a day after he told them they should open, Johnson said he did “everything in our power to keep them open” until “every other option had been closed off”.

“And when we begin to move out of lockdown I promise they will be the very first things to reopen. That moment may come after the February half-term, although we should remain extremely cautious about the timetable ahead,” he said.

“And as was the case last spring, our emergence from the lockdown cocoon will be not a big bang but a gradual unwrapping.”

Britain has been among the countries worst-hit by COVID-19, with the highest death toll in Europe. With the appearance of the new variant, it has seen case numbers repeatedly reach record highs, stretching the country’s health service.

Johnson, who has been criticised for being too slow to introduce strict regulations in the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic, is not expected to face a large rebellion from his Conservative Party in the vote on the lockdown.

But his seeming reluctance to introduce tougher measures to combat surging cases and his mixed messages on whether to open primary schools have prompted criticism, not only in the opposition Labour Party but also among Conservatives.

Some in his party are also critical of any “draconian” restrictions, demanding that they are removed as quickly as possible. But Johnson was cautious about any time lines.

He said the legislation would run until March 31 “not because we expect the full national lockdown to continue until then, but to allow a steady, controlled and evidence-led move down through the tiers on a regional basis”.

 

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