The UK's coronavirus hospital death toll has increased by 386, with one of the victims aged under 19.
England reported 289 fatalities, Scotland had 50, Wales recorded 33 and Northern Ireland had 14 to bring the UK hospital total to 51,464.
By comparison, the number of deaths announced on recent Thursdays was 381 on December 3, 438 on November 26, 431 on November 19, 411 on November 12 and 317 on November 5.
Thursday's total of 386 is the latest sign the number of fatalities in hospitals could be levelling off.
The lowest toll announced on a Thursday was five on August 20, while the highest was 891 on April 9, when the UK was going through the initial peak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
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NHS England announced a further 289 deaths, bringing the total number of fatalities in hospitals in England to 43,537.
As usual, the vast majority of those to sadly lose their lives were older, but one was aged 0-19, and three were 20-39. A further 161 were aged over 80.
Seventy-seven deaths were in the Midlands, 50 in Yorkshire and the North East, and 48 in the North West.
Scotland has recorded 50 deaths from coronavirus and 933 positive tests in the past 24 hours, Nicola Sturgeon said.
It brings the death toll under this measure - of people who first tested positive for the virus within the previous 28 days - to 4,039.
Speaking in the Scottish Parliament, Ms Sturgeon said 103,305 people have now tested positive in Scotland, up from 102,372 the previous day.
The daily test positivity rate is 4.7%, up from 4.6% on the previous day.
There are 984 people in hospital confirmed to have the virus, up 12 in 24 hours.
Of these patients, 52 are in intensive care, up by two.
Public Health Wales reported 33 deaths, taking its toll to 2,789.
The toll in Northern Ireland increased by 14 to 1,099.
In other developments:
- Experts have warned that it may be unwise for elderly people given the Covid-19 vaccine to hug their loved ones at Christmas.
As the NHS vaccination programme continues across the UK, scientists suggested people may only have partial immunity after a single dose of the vaccine and should wait until they are fully protected with a second dose.
- On the allergy warning over the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 jab, Professor David Salisbury, a former Department of Health director of immunisation, said that adverse reactions happen "of the order of about one in a million doses".
- More than a quarter of people have said they are unsure or reluctant about getting a Covid-19 vaccine, according to research.
- Nurses working with Covid-19 respiratory patients during the first wave of the pandemic suffered anxiety and depression, with younger staff being worst affected, according to research.
- A&E attendances at hospitals in England continue to be below levels of a year ago, according to the latest figures from NHS England.
The number of people having to wait more than 52 weeks to start hospital treatment in England stood at 162,888 in October of this year - the highest number for any calendar month since May 2008.
The total number of people admitted for routine treatment in hospitals in England was down 27% in October compared with a year ago.
