Britain on Saturday recorded 917 more coronavirus deaths, bringing the overall death toll to nearly 10,000, while Prime Minister Boris Johnson was making “good progress” in his recovery from Covid-19, according to the government.

The Health Department said that a total of 9,875 patients with the coronavirus had died as of Friday evening. Of the almost 270,000 people who have been tested, 78,991 were positive.

The figures reported on Saturday mark a decrease in the daily death rate from the day before, when Britain surpassed Italy’s highest daily death toll for the first time since the pandemic, with 980 mortalities.

The death figures do not include fatalities in care homes.

According to Britain’s Press Association, Johnson has a tablet to watch films such as “Lord of the Rings” and likes to play sudoku while recovering from Covid-19, the disease caused by coronavirus.

The 55-year-old politician had spent three days in the intensive care unit at a London hospital after his health deteriorated.

He was moved back to a normal ward on Thursday. It remains unclear when he will be able to return to work, with his absence in the middle of a global crisis being sorely evident.

Foreign Minister Dominic Raab is deputising for Johnson, but there are no clearly defined rules for situations in which a British head of government is not able to fulfil his or her duties. (dpa/NAN)