The UK will suffer "quite a lot more" Covid deaths in the next few weeks as it takes time for a vaccine to protect all the most vulnerable, Chris Whitty warned tonight.
England's Chief Medical Officer said the number of deaths “looks as if [they have] flattened out but at a very high level.”
But adding people had to be “realistic”, the Chief Medical Officer said it was still an “incredibly high number” and will only “come down relatively slowly over the next two weeks”.
He added: “We will still unfortunately be having additional deaths to add to that very sad total.”
He went on: “Unfortunately we’re going to see quite a lot more deaths over the next few weeks before the effects of the vaccines begin to be felt.”
It came as the UK officially passed 100,000 coronavirus deaths, almost a year to the day since the first cases were recorded in Britain.
Some 1,631 new deaths within 28 days of a positive test were recorded today, bringing the total to 100,162.
Office for National Statistics data also shows deaths where Covid-19 is registered as a cause on death certificates was well over 100,000.
Boris Johnson said: "It's hard to compute the sorrow contained in that grim statistic. The years of life lost, the famiiy gatherings not attended and for so many relatives, the missed chance to say goodbye."
He offered his "deepest condolences" to all those who lost a loved one and promised to "come together as a nation to remember everyone we lost" after the pandemic.
And the grim-faced Prime Minister vowed, after the storm of the pandemic is over, “we will make sure we learn the lessons and reflect and prepare.”
The Prime Minister was addressing the nation from No 10 as he wrestles to focus public on attention away from tragic errors and towards the successful vaccine roll-out programme.
Calls for a public inquiry into the Tory administration's response to the coronavirus crisis mounted as the grim milestone was reached.
Britain currently has the worst death rates in the world per capita - prompting a fresh round of questions over what it had got so tragically wrong.
Keir Starmer said the grim figure was a "national tragedy and a terrible reminder of all that we have lost as a country".
He said: “We must never become numb to these numbers or treat them as just statistics. Every death is a loved one, a friend, a neighbour, a partner or a colleague. It is an empty chair at the dinner table.
Dr Chaand Nagpaul, council chair of the British Medical Association, said: “We must not and will not forget this day.
"The day when we mourn the deaths of one hundred thousand people from a virus which has wreaked havoc on our health service, nation and society.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: “My thoughts are with each and every person who has lost a loved one - behind these heart-breaking figures are friends, families and neighbours.
“I know how hard the last year has been, but I also know how strong the British public’s determination is and how much we have all pulled together to get through this."
Sam Royston, director Marie Curie, added: “The cold, unimaginable reality of this figure belies the 100,000 people behind the number.
"People who were loved. People who leave behind families, friends and communities who are suffering right now. People are grieving in the most challenging of circumstances and our society is ill prepared to respond to death, of this complexity, on such a vast scale.”
NHS Providers chief executive Chris Hopson said: “This is a dreadful milestone to have reached and behind each death will be a story of sorrow and grief.”
