COVID-19: UK's 563 new deaths bring toll to 2,352

By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal

LONDON (AA) - Death toll from coronavirus outbreak in the U.K. has passed 2,300 with a record rise of 563 more deaths on Wednesday.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said that as of 9 p.m. March 31, a total of 2,352 of those treated in hospital after being tested positive for coronavirus had died.

The DHSC also said that as of 9 a.m. on April 1, a total of 152,979 people had been tested, with 29,474 of them testing positive.

The U.K. has now become one of the worst affected countries across Europe after Italy, Spain, and France in terms of victims to the COVID-19 outbreak.

A 13-year-old Muslim schoolboy from Brixton, south London on Tuesday became the youngest victim in the country.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Health Minister Matt Hancock are in self-isolation after having tested positive.

Prince Charles, the heir to the British throne, also tested positive and remained in isolation, after developing mild symptoms.

Capital London and Midlands are among the most affected regions in the country, with one-third of all deaths believed to have been in London.

The National Health Service has set up a 4,000-bed emergency coronavirus hospital in London’s one of the biggest convention centers, the ExCel center.

The death toll has risen dramatically after nearly 1,800 deaths were confirmed within the past seven days only.

After originating in Wuhan last December, COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, has spread to at least 180 countries and regions across the world, with its epicenter shifting to Europe.

The virus has killed more than 43,500 people and infected over 877,400 globally, while some 185,200 people have recovered from the disease, according to figures compiled by U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.