A further 610 lives have been lost to Covid-19 in the UK, bringing the country's official death toll to 97,939. The tragic number was announced by the Department of Health hours after health authorities said 682 people had died in hospitals in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The number of people testing positive for the virus in 24 hours was 30,004, with cases dropping by 22 per cent in the last seven days compared to the week before.
The Department of Health figures do not always directly overlap the timeframes of those from health authorities. The youngest patient to die in England was aged 32, the NHS confirmed this afternoon.