LONDON

The death toll in the UK from the coronavirus outbreak has reached 42,288 on Thursday with 135 additional fatalities reported by the health authorities.

The Department of Health and Social Care said 136,516 tests have been carried out a day before and 1,218 more people tested positive for the disease, bringing the total number of infections to 300,449.

Meanwhile, the UK will switch from its weeks-old virus tracing app to a model based on technology by Apple and Google, according to local media reports.

Earlier reports suggested that the government’s centralized app, which was piloted in the Isle of Wight, failed to work effectively on Apple’s iPhones and thus did not register contacts between people.

The country has relaxed coronavirus restrictions since June 1, and this week most of the shops have reopened.

The UK suffers the worst death toll in Europe with more than 42,000 people losing their lives to COVID-19.

The country’s death toll is the third highest worldwide as it follows the US and Brazil that have seen enormous numbers of people perishing during the pandemic.