A TOTAL of 3,605 patients across the UK have now died after testing positive for coronavirus.

The number means that another 684 people with Covid-19 died in the 24 hours leading up to 5pm on Thursday, the Department for Health said.

That number marks a rise on the 24 hours leading up to 5pm on Wednesday, in which 569 people died.

The news comes as the Government announced it is ready to take action to clamp down on "unscrupulous" traders seeking to exploit the coronavirus outbreak by charging sky-high prices for essential items.

In a fresh warning, No 10 said officials were in daily contact with retailers about the "minority" of outlets which had ramped up prices of goods in heavy demand.

At the same time the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is continuing to talk to Amazon and eBay about the actions they are taking against online sellers on their sites.

"We are facing a health emergency and nobody should be seeking to exploit that for financial gain," the Prime Minister's official spokesman said.

"Amazon and eBay have been taking actions, removing and blocking unfairly priced listings and. suspending or terminating the accounts of unscrupulous sellers.

"We will look at whether further action is necessary to tackle this issue. People are obviously trying to exploit the situation we find ourselves in and that mustn't be allowed to happen."

A recent survey by Which? found some online traders were advertising items such as anti-bacterial hand gel, digital thermometers and disinfectant for many times their normal price.