A further 98 people have died of coronavirus in the UK in a sharp drop on last week.
Today's death toll, which is down 30 per cent on last Wednesday, brings the number of deaths since the pandemic began to 126,382.
By way of comparison, yesterday a further 112 Covid patients died.
That represented a 50% drop compared to Tuesday two weeks ago, when 231 people lost their lives.
Another 5,605 positive tests were returned today, which is around 100 less than last Tuesday.
Yesterday marked a significant milestone in the country's response to the virus.
People showed respect for the fallen and those caring for Covid patients on the frontline by heading out onto their doorsteps on Tuesday night, 12 months after the first lockdown began.
While the vaccine rollout continues to go well in the UK, with cases and deaths falling week-by-week, the country still has the highest Covid death toll in the whole of Europe.
Today Labour MP Afzal Khan channelled the anger and sadness of thousands of Brits who have lost loved ones to the virus when he called for an independent probe into the handling of the pandemic.
The Commons sat in silence as he explained how he had lost three members of his family to Coronavirus.
Boris Johnson still refused to set a date for a Covid-19 inquiry, despite being asked twice at Prime Minister’s Questions to commit to one as soon as lockdown restrictions are lifted.
But the PM would only promise to hold one when “it’s right to do so.”
Mr Khan said: "A year into this crisis and more than 126,000 lives have been lost. Behind this staggering figure are millions of grieving loved ones.
"In my family, we have lost an entire generation.
"I couldn't hold my mum's hand as she lay dying and I recently lost both my father and mother-in-law within just days of one another.
"Grieving families like mine want and deserve to understand what happened, and if anything could have been done to prevent this tragedy."
