The number of UK coronavirus cases has edged a step closer to 3,000 a day, with another 2,919 recorded overnight.
It marks a rise of 260 on yesterday's figure, when 2,659 new infections were confirmed.
The number of Britons to contract Covid-19 since the start of the outbreak now stands at 358,138.
A further 14 deaths were confirmed in the past 24 hours, across all settings, bringing the official death toll to 41,608.
Eight of the deaths were reported in hospitals in England, bringing the total number of fatalities among hospital patients to 29,639, NHS England said.
Patients were aged between 39 and 93 and all but one patient had known underlying health conditions.
The dates of the deaths were between September 4 and September 9.
One new death was reported in Northern Ireland, bringing the total to 568, while another 78 people tested positive for Covid-19.
In Scotland, the number of coronavirus cases rose by 161 to 22,039, but no new deaths were reported. The death toll remains at 2,499.
The death toll in Wales remains at 1,597 after no new deaths were reported in the last 24 hours.
The number of cases increased by 102, bringing the total number of confirmed infections to 18,931.
The death toll published by the Department of Health differs to regional figures as it includes fatalities across settings, including care homes.
But separate figures published by the UK’s statistics agencies show there have now been 57,400 deaths registered in the UK where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate.
