THE UK Department of Health has confirmed that 684 more people have died in hospital after testing positive for coronavirus.
The latest update brings the total number of deaths in the UK to 3605 as of 5pm on Thursday.
As of 9am on Friday, a total of 173,784 people have been tested for coronavirus, of which 38,168 tested positive.
In Scotland, the number of people to have died after contracting coronavirus has risen to 172.
READ MORE: Scottish coronavirus deaths rise to 172 as FM warns peak still to come
The latest UK figures were released as the first of the emergency field hospitals to treat coronavirus patients opened in east London's ExCel centre.
The temporary NHS Nightingale Hospital is able to take up to 4000 patients and will be staffed by NHS medics with help from the military.
Similar hospitals are in the pipeline across the UK, including in Cardiff, Glasgow, Manchester, the north east and Bristol.
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