Zero COVID deaths recorded in England in past 24 hours

No deaths from coronavirus have been recorded in England in the latest 24-hour period.

It is the first time England has recorded no coronavirus deaths in a single day since 30 July, 2020, after the first wave of the pandemic.

The current overall death toll in England therefore remains at 112,254, as of Monday.

England recorded 2,009 new infections on Monday, bringing the case total to more than 3,876,000.

Meanwhile, as a whole, the UK reported just four new deaths on Monday.

Read: WHO expert urges England to go back to normal life... but wear a face mask

Daily deaths across the UK have been dropping steadily in recent weeks, with Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales all recording zero COVID deaths on several days in May and late April.

On Monday, the COVID alert level in the UK was downgraded after a “consistent” fall in cases, hospital admissions and deaths.

The four chief medical officers of the UK have said the threat level should be lowered from “level 4” to “level 3”, thanks to the success of the vaccination programme and social distancing restrictions.

This means the epidemic is in general circulation, but transmission of the virus is no longer deemed to be high or rising exponentially.

Boris Johnson is due to announce that England’s lockdown easing will proceed as planned on 17 May.

This means people will be able to meet in groups of six or two households indoors, while pubs and restaurants can serve customers inside.

Watch: UK's longest-known COVID patient suffering 'fainting attacks'

The government has also indicated it will allow hugging between friends and family from next Monday.

The falling figures have prompted questions from some quarters over whether Boris Johnson should lift lockdown restrictions earlier than planned.

However, Downing Street has insisted that the government will stick to its roadmap for easing England's lockdown.

According to government figures, a third of UK adults are now fully vaccinated against COVID, with a total of 17,669,379 people having received both jabs – the equivalent of 33.5% of all people aged 18 and over.

Overall, more than 53 million vaccine doses have been administered in the UK.

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Dr David Nabarro, the WHO’s special envoy on COVID, said on Monday that the UK needs to get back to normal life amid its low infection and high vaccination rates.

But he added that compromises like social distancing and face masks must be a part of this.

Dr Nabarro said: "On the one hand we’ve got a dangerous virus, on the other hand we must get on with life because it just can’t go on with the restrictions that people have had up till now.”

He added that he would advise everybody: “You must restart life and everybody wants you to do that. But please be really careful, maintain that physical distance of between one metre and two metres – especially indoors – and don’t forget to wear your face masks because that really can give extra protection."

Watch: Gove says government wants to allow 'contact between friends and family'