Seven-year-old dies of Covid as death toll rises by 915
Another 915 people have died with coronavirus in the UK, bringing the total overall death toll to 110,250.
One of those who died in hospital was as young as seven years old, according to NHS England.
A further 20,634 new cases have also been detected in the latest 24 hour period, meaning 3,892,549 people have now caught the virus since the pandemic began.
Today’s figures compare to yesterday, when 1,322 people died and 19,202 new cases were recorded.
In more positive news, 472,011 doses of the vaccine were administered today, taking the country’s total vaccination tally to 10,992,444.
The seven day rate for deaths is down by 16.6% compared to the previous week while cases continue to fall by 25% week-on-week. Hospital admissions were also down by nearly a quarter on January 31.
In hospitals, a further 630 people who tested positive for coronavirus died, bringing the total number of confirmed deaths in this setting to 74,249.
Patients were aged between seven and 102. All except 30, aged between 40 and 99, had known underlying health conditions.
The deaths were between January 4 and February 3, with the majority being on or after 29 January.
No further details have been released about the seven-year-old who died but the data indicated they did have underlying health conditions.
The situation is slowly improving in all parts of the UK. Northern Ireland saw 412 new cases and 10 new deaths while there were 1,149 cases in Scotland and 53 deaths. In Wales, the figures were 544 cases and 35 deaths.
The latest vaccinations mean nearly nine in 10 people aged 80 and over in England have now received their first dose, according to NHS England.
The provisional figure for the whole of England stood at 88.1% as of January 31, with south-west England reporting the highest regional total (92.8%) and London reporting the lowest (74.9%).
It comes amid concerns that scientific advisers are ‘moving the goalposts’ for easing Covid restrictions, potentially delaying the end of lockdown.
Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, fears experts are focusing on bringing case numbers down, instead of the initial target of protecting the NHS and saving lives, the Telegraph reported.
Boris Johnson has insisted there will be a ‘gradual and phased’ approach to lifting restrictions, with the national lockdown in place until at least March 8, and a review before then in mid-February.
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