THE UK Government has said it’s too soon to say if Britain is one of the worst hit countries in Europe – despite the official coronavirus death toll jumping by 3811 to 26,097.

That startling spike in numbers yesterday came after ministers moved to include people who have died in any setting, and not just those who have passed away in hospital.

However, this figure is still likely nowhere near the true total as it only includes people who died after testing positive for coronavirus.

Many people – especially older people in care homes or in their own home – who have died from the disease will not have been tested.

At Prime Minister’s Questions in the Commons, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer (pictured) said the number of deaths was “truly dreadful”.

He said: “Six weeks ago on March 17 the Government’s chief scientific adviser indicated the Government hoped to keep the overall number of deaths from coronavirus to below 20,000.

“He said that would be ‘good’ by which in fairness to him, he meant successful in the circumstances. But we’re clearly way above that number and we’re only partway through this crisis and we’re possibly on track to have one of the worst death rates in Europe.

“On Monday, the Prime Minister said in his short speech that many were looking at our apparent success in the UK. But does the First Secretary agree with me that far from success, these latest figures are truly dreadful?”

Replying for the government, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said: “Of course, this is an unprecedented pandemic – a global pandemic – and in fairness we should not criticise either the chief medical officer or the deputy chief medical officer for trying to give some forecast in response to the questions that many in this chamber and in the media are calling for.

“The reality is that we know a lot more about the virus, both domestically and internationally, than we did before.”

Raab also said it was too soon to compare the UK to other countries.

“I absolutely share with [Starmer] our joint horror at the number of deaths – tragedies each and every one.

“Equally, I disagree with him: it is far too early to make international comparisons. If they are to be done, they should be done on a per capita basis. We are already seeing that deaths are measured in different ways, not just in the different settings in the UK but across Europe and around the world.”

Starmer also urged the Government to publish an exit strategy in order to be open with the British public about what comes next. He warned that the UK Government could be left behind.

He said: “France, Germany, Spain, Belgium, New Zealand, Australia, Scotland and Wales have all published exit plans of one sort or another.”

Raab responded: “The Scottish Government has not set out an exit strategy. I read through very carefully their 25-page document, it was eminently sensible and it was grounded in the five tests that I set out on April 16.”

Meanwhile, the largest study of NHS patients with Covid-19 has revealed that a third of all those admitted to hospital died from the disease.

The report by the International Severe Acute Respiratory and emerging Infections (ISARIC) looked at 16,749 admissions between February 6 and April 18 at hospitals in England, Scotland and Wales. They found that 49% of patients were discharged alive, 33% had died and 17% continued to receive care.

Death rates were 37% higher among obese patients, while heart disease was the most common underlying condition.