Coronavirus live news: UK records 397 new deaths and a further 15,539 cases; Keir Starmer forced to self-isolate | World news

A further 315 people who tested positive for coronavirus have died in hospital in England, bringing the total number of confirmed deaths reported in hospitals to 42,194, NHS England said on Saturday.

Patients were aged between 32 and 103. All except seven, aged between 64 and 96, had known underlying health conditions.
The deaths were between 13 April and 4 December.

Twenty-two other deaths were reported with no positive Covid-19 test result.

France recorded 12,923 new infections on Saturday, up from Friday’s 11,221 and bucking a general month-long downward trend.

The country reported on Saturday that the number of people hospitalised with Covid-19 fell again, and now stands at 26,070.

Another 214 people were reported to have died in the past 24 hours, compared to Friday’s death toll of 284.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Saturday reported 14,255,535 cases of the new coronavirus, an increase of 214,099 cases from its previous count, and said that the number of deaths had risen by 2,439 to 277,825.

The CDC reported its tally of cases of the respiratory illness known as Covid-19, caused by coronavirus, as of 4 pm ET on 4 December versus its previous report a day earlier.

2000 football fans in London have started watching the first Premier League game to allow fans into a ground since March.

At 5:30pm local time, the game between West Ham and Manchester United kicked off at the London Stadium, after the ban on fans entering stadiums was lifted on 2 December.

The stadium is in east London, which is in Tier 2 of the country’s three tier coronavirus restrictions system.

Clubs in Tier 1 can allow up to 4,000 supporters in their grounds, while sides in Tier 2 can welcome up to 2,000, Sky reports.

Matches that take place in Tier 3 areas must still be played behind closed doors.

This means Manchester United is not yet to be able to welcome fans back to their grounds.

Italy reported 21,052 new infections on Saturday, down from 24,099 the previous day, as well as 662 new coronavirus deaths, the health ministry said.

On Friday, the country recorded 814 deaths from the virus.

Italy has seen 59,514 Covid-19 fatalities since its outbreak emerged in February, the second highest toll in Europe after Britain.

It has also registered 1.71 million cases to date, Reuters reports.

There were 194,984 swabs carried out in the past day, down from a previous 212,741, the ministry said.

Patients in hospital with Covid-19 stood at 30,158 on Saturday, down 1,042 from the day before.

There were 192 new admissions to intensive care units, while the number of intensive care patients decreased by 50 to 3,517, reflecting those who died or were discharged after recovery.

When Italy’s second wave of the epidemic was accelerating fast in the first half of November, hospital admissions were rising by around 1,000 per day, while intensive care occupancy was increasing by about 100 per day.

Portugal will ease coronavirus rules over the Christmas period to allow people to visit friends and family but measures will be reinforced again a few days later to crack down on New Year’s Eve parties, the government said on Saturday.

The prime minister, Antonio Costa, told reporters that a domestic travel ban would not be imposed between 23 and 26 December but said movement between Portuguese regions would be prohibited again on New Year’s Eve, Reuters reports.

No street parties will be allowed on 31 December, outdoor gatherings will be limited to a maximum of six people and everyone must be home by 2am, Costa said.

Turkey has reported a record high in new deaths from Covid-19 on Saturday, with 196 deaths in the last 24 hours.

Turkey recorded 31,896 new cases, some of them asymptomatic, in the same period, the health ministry said.

This is down from Friday’s 32,736, the highest daily number reported by Ankara since the beginning of the pandemic in March.

The country’s total death toll now stands at 14,705.

Britain reported 15,539 new Covid-19 cases on Saturday and 397 new deaths within 28 days of a positive test result, both falls on the previous day’s figures.

On Friday, the country recorded 16,298 new infections.

Initial supplies of the Covid vaccine have arrived in Scotland and are on track to be administered on Tuesday, the first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has tweeted.