Cases of coronavirus continue to fall in the UK, while the number of deaths has also seen a drop in recent weeks, according to the latest government data.
It comes as Covid-19 restrictions have now been lifted in England meaning self-isolation and testing is no longer a legal requirement. Other UK nations have kept the isolation rules in place.
The official public health advice from the government remains that both adults and children testing positive for the virus should stay at home for five days.
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Free testing for the general public is set to end on April 1, but some vulnerable groups will continue to get testing for free. The majority of the population will need to pay for tests after this date.
The government announced its 'Living with Covid' strategy at the end of February. It said that high vaccination rates and the milder impact of the Omicron variant had allowed the changes to be made safely.
Here's the latest coronavirus data released by the UK government, as of March 4.
Cases
According to Friday's figures, a total of 255,864 people had a confirmed positive test result between February 26 and March 4 - a decrease of -1.9% compared to the previous seven days.
Today, March 4, a total of 44,740 positive tests results were recorded in the UK.
The highest daily total this week came on Monday, February 28, when 82,451 cases were confirmed.
The cumulative total of cases in the UK since the pandemic began now stands at 19,119,181.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has released its weekly data on the number of cases estimated.
In England, around one in 30 people in private households are estimated to have had the virus in the week to February 26, or 1.9 million people. That is down from one in 25, or 2.1 million people in the week to February 19.
Scotland saw a slight increase week-on-week, up from one in 20 people to one in 19, while in Wales the estimate remains around one in 30.
Hospitalisations
The latest data available shows that a total of 1,316 people were admitted to hospital on February 28. That is up from 1,207 a week earlier.
However, the weekly trend shows a drop in hospital admissions.
Between February 22 and February 28, a total of 7,961 went into hospital with coronavirus, the government said.
This is a decrease of -3.1% compared to the previous seven days.
On March 3, there were 10,510 patients in hospital with coronavirus.
Out of those patients in hospital, 264 of them were in hospital beds with a mechanical ventilator.
Deaths
Between February 26 and March 4, a total of 710 deaths within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test were recorded.
The government said this shows a decrease of -16.0% compared to the previous seven days.
A total of 110 further deaths were recorded in the UK in the last 24 hours.
The highest daily number of deaths this week was recorded on Tuesday, March 1, and Thursday, March 3. A total of 194 deaths were recorded on each day.
The government said a total of 162,008 deaths have now been reported within 28 days of a positive test since the pandemic began.
According to the ONS, a total of 863 deaths registered in England and Wales in the week ending February 18 mentioned Covid-19 on the death certificate.
This is down 19% on the previous seven days and is the fourth week-on-week fall in a row.
The number of deaths where coronavirus was mentioned on the death certificate now stands at 183,579.
Vaccinations
The latest data shows that:
- 52,654,053 people had been given a first dose by the end of 3 March 2022.
- 49,061,567 people had been given a second dose by the end of 3 March 2022.
- 38,311,827 people had been given a booster or third dose by the end of 3 March 2022.
As of March 3, 91.6 per cent of people aged 12 and over in the UK have received at least one dose of a vaccine - and 66.6 per cent have received three doses.
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