UK records 1,245 more coronavirus deaths

Total number of deaths within 28 days of a positive test now at 104,371

The UK has recorded another 1,245 deaths within 28 days of a positive Covid test, bringing the total to 104,371.

A further 29,079 cases were also reported, according to the government, while 414,419 people were given their first vaccine dose.

The latest updated figures show that deaths, cases and hospital admissions over the past seven days have all decreased compared to the previous week.

However there are still 35,375 people in hospital with Covid and 3,918 patients on ventilators in intensive care.

The UK has a rate of 328.7 new cases per 100,000 people over the last seven days, mainly due to England’s rate of 354.2. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have rates of 168, 191 and 262 respectively.

Knowsley in Merseyside continues to have the highest rate in England, with 1,090 new cases recorded in the seven days to 25 January - the equivalent of 722.5 cases per 100,000 people, down from 1014 the previous week.

Separate data from the Office for National Statistics suggest that coronavirus infections have levelled off across the UK, although more than one million people were infected in the most recent week available.

An estimated one in 55 people in private households in England had Covid-19 between 17 and 23 January, broadly unchanged on the previous estimates for the period 10 to 16 January.

In Wales, around one in 70 people had Covid-19, also unchanged from the previous estimate. The figure for Northern Ireland was around one in 50, up slightly from one in 60, while the estimate for Scotland was broadly unchanged, down slightly from around one in 100 people to one in 110.

According to the latest estimates, the R number indicating the spread of the virus is currently between 0.7 to 1.1, with a daily infection growth rate range of -5 per cent to zero per cent.

Additional reporting by agencies