Coronavirus: 367 more COVID-19 deaths in UK - highest daily figure since May

The UK has recorded 367 more COVID-19 deaths in the latest 24-hour period, official figures show.

It is the highest daily figure since 27 May, when 422 fatalities were reported.

Yesterday, it was announced 102 people had died within 28 days of a positive COVID-19 test.

There have now been a total of 45,365 coronavirus deaths, according to government data.

A further 22,885 laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases have been announced in the latest 24-hour period, taking the total to 917,575.

Monday's number of infections was 20,890.

Meanwhile, separate figures from the Office for National Statistics show the number of weekly registered deaths involving coronavirus rose by more than half in seven days.

There were 670 fatalities registered in England and Wales which mentioned "novel coronavirus" in the week ending 16 October, the ONS said.

This is a rise of 53% from the previous week, when 438 deaths involving COVID-19 were registered.

It is the sixth successive rise and the highest number of registered deaths involving coronavirus since the week ending 19 June.

Deaths increased in all regions in England and Wales, and in hospitals, care homes, hospices, private homes and other communal establishments.

Dr Yvonne Doyle, medical director of Public Health England, warned the rising number of deaths was likely to "continue for some time".

She said: "We continue to see the trend in deaths rising and it is likely this will continue for some time.

"Each day we see more people testing positive and hospital admissions increasing.

"Being seriously ill enough from the infection to need hospital admission can sadly lead to more COVID-related deaths."

Hopes the population will become immune to COVID-19 have been dashed by new research showing antibodies fall rapidly after recovering from the disease.

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Herd immunity has been proposed by some scientists as a better alternative to lockdowns in tackling the pandemic.

It would require around 50-60% of the population to have protection against the virus so it could no longer transmit efficiently.

However, a major UK study has found that rather than building immunity over time, the number of people with antibodies has fallen by 26% since lockdown was eased over the summer.