"And sadly, of those tested positive for coronavirus across all settings, 26,711 have now died, that’s an increase of 674 fatalities since yesterday across all settings," Johnson said, stressing that the death toll did not just account for those who have died in hospitals.

The latest figures are a slight decrease from the 765 new deaths announced by the Department of Health and Social Care on Wednesday.

Additionally, 6,032 new cases of the disease were confirmed by public health authorities in the UK, taking the overall case total to 171,253.

The number of people currently in hospital undergoing treatment for the disease has decreased by 316, Johnson said.

The prime minister was making his first appearance at the country’s daily coronavirus disease press briefing since his positive test for the disease in March.

On Wednesday, the United Kingdom overtook Spain as the country with the second-highest COVID-19 death toll in Europe. In total, 453 new deaths were confirmed by the Spanish health authorities on Wednesday, the first day since April 23 that the daily increase in the death toll was above 400.