The first coronavirus death at London's emergency NHS Nightingale hospital has been confirmed.
A total of 25,678 patients have now died in hospitals across the UK - an increase of 464.
In the latest figures announced today, the government confirmed one patient had died at the field hospital at London's ExCel centre.
While the death was first reported today, the patient died from coronavirus at the hospital on May 5th.
The 4,000-bed emergency field hospital opened at the ExCel Centre in east London earlier this month after being built in the space of just a few weeks.
However, just a few dozen patients have been treated a the hospital.
Earlier this week Boris Johnson ’s official spokesman confirmed reports that NHS Nightingale in London would be mothballed.
The spokesman said it is “not likely that in the coming days” there will be new patients arriving at the hospital.
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He added it has been “effectively placed on standby so it would be ready to receive patients should that be required. We are not anticipating that will be the case.”
Four Nightingale hospitals outside London have been built across the UK, including Birmingham, Manchester, Bristol and Harrogate.
It is understood that none of these hospitals have taken any patients.
The spokesman added that the Nightingales were “absolutely not” a waste of money.
He added: “That’s obviously a very positive thing and we’re grateful to everybody in London for following the government’s advice to protect the NHS.”
Earlier this month, NHS England’s national medical director Professor Stephen Powis defended the construction of the hospitals because they added much-need hospital bed capacity.
Asked if NHS Nightingale hospitals were built in error, Prof Powis said: "Absolutely 100% not."
"If you wind the clock back a month or two, we were looking at an increase in the number of cases, infections, in the UK.
"We were watching images from around the world of health systems that were overwhelmed and we had not put in place, were about to put in place, a series of social distancing measures not absolutely knowing how the public would respond to that.
"It would have been foolish to have not planned for extra capacity within the NHS. We did that in a number of ways including the Nightingales."
Today in England, a further 383 people lost their lives in hospital having caught the coronavirus.
Of these, 236 lost their lives in May while 131 died in April and 16 in March.
The Covid-19 deaths in hospital toll now stands at 22,432 in England.
A further 18 people have died in hospitals in Wales, where the Covid-19 death toll now stands at 1,062.
In Northern Ireland four more people have died in hospitals and there have been a further 50 coronavirus infections.
Earlier today, Nicola Sturgeon said 1,762 patients had now died in Scotland after testing positive for coronavirus, up by 59 from 1,703 on Wednesday.
The First Minister said 12,924 people have now tested positive for the virus in Scotland, up by 215 from 12,709 the day before.
There are 86 people in intensive care in Scotland with coronavirus or coronavirus symptoms, a decrease of three on yesterday, she added.
