A nurse puts on PPE in a ward for Covid patients (Victoria Jones/PA)
(Picture: PA Wire)The UK announced a further 16,579 Covid-19 cases on Tuesday as confirmed infections continue to plunge.
However another 451 deaths within 28 days of a positive Covid test result were announced - 110 more than Monday’s figure.
A total of 131,054 infections have been recorded over the past seven days, which is a 29.1 per cent - or 53,707 cases - drop on the week prior.
In London, 13,908 cases have been recorded in the last week.
Wales has seen infections drop for the first time in seven weeks, while in Northern Ireland cases dropped to levels last seen before Christmas 2021.
Overall, 193,528 deaths have now occurred in the UK where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate, the ONS said.
The highest number on a single day was 1,478 on January 19, 2021.
During the first wave of the virus, the daily toll peaked at 1,461 on April 8, 2020.
Around nine in 10 deaths with Covid-19 on the death certificate since the start of the pandemic have coronavirus as the primary cause of death, with a minority listing the virus as a contributory factor.
The figures come as the number of people in hospital with Covid-19 in the UK shows early signs of being on a downwards trend, having peaked at around the same level that was reached during the first Omicron surge in January.
The number of investigated cases of “acute hepatitis of unknown origin” in children under the age of 10 has risen to 114, according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).
Public health officials said a lack of exposure to common infections during children’s “formative” years, due to social distancing and lockdown restrictions, may explain the global outbreak in cases of the disease that has killed one child worldwide.
