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| Coronavirus: UK becomes first country in Europe to pass 30,000 deaths | Coronavirus: UK becomes first country in Europe to pass 30,000 deaths |
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| The UK has become the first country in Europe to pass 30,000 coronavirus deaths, according to the latest government figures. | The UK has become the first country in Europe to pass 30,000 coronavirus deaths, according to the latest government figures. |
| A total of 30,076 people have now died in hospitals, care homes and the wider community after testing positive for the virus, up by 649 from Tuesday. | A total of 30,076 people have now died in hospitals, care homes and the wider community after testing positive for the virus, up by 649 from Tuesday. |
| Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick said they were "heartbreaking losses". | Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick said they were "heartbreaking losses". |
| On Tuesday, the number of deaths recorded in the UK passed Italy's total, becoming the highest in Europe. | |
| The latest total for Italy, which also records deaths of those who have tested positive for the virus, stands at 29,684. | |
| The UK now has the second-highest number of recorded coronavirus deaths in the world, second only to the United States which has more than 70,000. | |
| Experts have warned that it could be months before full global comparisons can be made. | |
| Each country also has different testing regimes, with Italy conducting more tests than the UK to date. | |
| Meanwhile, testing for coronavirus in the UK has fallen to its lowest level in a week. | |
| The government provided 69,463 tests in the 24 hours up to 09:00 BST on Wednesday, lower than its testing target of 100,000 for the fourth consecutive day. | |
| It had previously pledged to conduct 100,000 tests a day by the end of April - it has reached that number on two occasions. | |
| As well as tests conducted in person, it also includes thousands of postal tests, which have not necessarily been carried out on the day. | |
| Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth tweeted: "Testing should be going up, not be on this downward trajectory. Ministers need to explain why they are failing to deliver the testing promised." | |
| Earlier, Boris Johnson said it was his "ambition" to increase coronavirus testing capacity to 200,000 a day by the end of May. |