The UK's coronavirus death toll has risen by 231 - a significant drop from a month ago.
Today's figures are 78 per cent down from the numbers on Tuesday, February 9, when the death toll rose by 1,052.
The increase brings the nation's total to 124,797, the Department of Health confirmed today.
Last Tuesday, March 2, 343 people lost their lives to Covid-19 - compared to 548 fatalities seven days before.
Statistics also show that the UK has registered 5,766 cases of coronavirus in the past 24 hours.
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Figures from the Government dashboard showed that 65 people died yesterday, although numbers can be lower at weekends due to a lag in reporting.
It was announced earlier today that a further 188 coronavirus hospital patients have died in the UK - with the youngest victim aged just 11.
In England, 164 Covid patients have passed away, while 19 died in Scotland, three in Wales and two in Northern Ireland.
This represents a continued reduction on previous Tuesday tolls.
All except eight, aged between 49 and 87, had known underlying health conditions.
The latest statistics come as England's Chief Medical Officer predicted the country will see another "surge" of Covid cases this summer, autumn or winter.
Chris Whitty said "all the modelling" suggests cases will soar at some point after restrictions ease - despite more than a third of the UK getting a first vaccine dose so far.
And he rejected calls to ease lockdown faster, telling MPs: "If you open up too fast, a lot more people die - a lot more people die."
But he added the "ratio of cases to deaths will go right down" compared to previous waves of the virus, due to the vaccine kicking in.
It comes after modelling for SAGE last month projected there would be more than 30,000 extra deaths by summer 2022 under all scenarios of easing lockdown.
Prof Whitty told MPs today: "As things are opening up, what all the modelling suggests is at some point we will get a surge in virus.
"Whether that happens, we hope it doesn’t happen soon, but it might for example happen later in the summer if we open up gradually, or if there’s a seasonal effect it might happen over the next autumn or winter.
“But I think all the modelling suggests there is going to be a further surge and that will find the people who have either not been vaccinated or where the vaccine’s not worked.
"Some of them will end up in hospital and sadly some of them will go on to die. That’s just the reality of where we are."
In other coronavirus news, a Tory minister said today that parents must not mingle at the school gates after dropping off their children.
Millions of pupils returned to classrooms on Monday under the first stage of the relaxation of lockdown.
Schools Minister Nick Gibb urged people to "go straight home" rather than chatting with other parents at drop off and pick up times, and to continue to abide by social distancing rules.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has acknowledged that an increased risk of transmission is "inevitable" in opening up schools again.
But he added: "We all know that the education of our children is so important that the greater risk now is keeping them out of school for a day longer."
