Britain has become the fifth country in the world to reach the grim milestone of 20,000 coronavirus-related deaths.
The government said Saturday that 20,319 people with COVID-19 have died in U.K. hospitals, an increase of 813 on the number announced the day before.
The news came amid criticism of the government, after it emerged that Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s controversial chief aide Dominic Cummings attended meetings of the independent group of scientists advising on coronavirus policy.
After a report in The Guardian, the government confirmed that Cummings attended several meetings of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies and listened to discussions.
But it denied Cummings was a member of the group.
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