A further 236 coronavirus deaths have been recorded in the UK.
It is around a third down on last Friday when 345 fatalities were announced.
It comes after Covid hospital fatalities in the country went up by 199 today - a drop of 43 per cent on last Friday.
But other figures show Britain's R number has increased for the first time in seven weeks.
The UK's coronavirus R rate has risen slightly to 0.7-0.9 - despite cases falling to their lowest level since September.
Figures show the infection rate has risen from 0.6-0.9 a day after it was revealed confirmed cases of coronavirus in England are at their lowest level since September after a 19 per cent drop in a week.
In the latest data covering the last 24 hours, England recorded 174 new hospital deaths, Wales recorded 12, Scotland recorded 11 and Northern Ireland recorded two.
This is a drop from a week ago, when 352 deaths were recorded - the lowest Friday increase of 2021 so far.
By comparison, the tolls announced on other Fridays this year were 367 on February 19, 508 on February 12, 649 on February 5, 865 on January 29, 1,143 on January 22, 1,025 on January 15, 886 on January 8, and 420 on January 1.
A leading scientist warned today Britain will have to continue living with a "substantial" death rate as the fight against coronavirus continues.
Professor Andrew Hayward, a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), said society will, however, "get back to normal" in time and the country has already seen the worst.
The Department of Health and Social Care has submitted its proposal to the NHS pay review body, which will decide in May how much of a salary uplift the vast majority of NHS staff across the UK should get in 2021-22.
The 1% rise would apply to all staff apart from junior doctors, GPs and dentists.
One nurse, called Sam, tweeted a photo of him at the end of a shift, saying: "I’m more tired, more worn out and even more deflated after today’s news of a measly 1% pay rise for NHS Staff."
