UK coronavirus death toll rises by 155 to 44,391

Emergency services prepare for a weekend that could be as busy as New Year's Eve: Getty Images
Emergency services prepare for a weekend that could be as busy as New Year's Eve: Getty Images

A further 155 people in the UK have died after testing positive for coronavirus, bringing the official death toll to 44,391.

The Government figures do not include all deaths involving Covid-19 across the UK, which are thought to have passed 55,000.

The Department of Health and Social Care also said that in the 24-hour period up to 9am on Tuesday, there were 581 positive test results. Overall, a total of 286,349 cases have been confirmed.

It comes after just 16 new deaths involving Covid-19 were reported yesterday, the lowest daily figure for a Monday since the nation went into lockdown.

Figures on Mondays have tended to be lower because of weekend lags in reporting.

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