The daily number of coronavirus deaths in UK hospitals has dropped for the second day in a row as 482 new fatalities were reported.
England reported 391 new deaths, Scotland had 60, Wales recorded 22 and Northern Ireland's count increased by nine, taking the UK's hospital toll to 22,861.
However, the country's death toll is more than 26,500 when fatalities in the community, such as in care homes, private homes and hospices, are included.
Thursday's daily total of 482 is down from 610 on Wednesday and 653 on Tuesday, and almost half of the single-day record - 953 - reported on April 10.
Single-day tolls on the previous three Thursdays were 602 on April 23, 870 on April 16 and 891 on April 9.
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The latest figures were announced as Britain braced for the possibility of staying in lockdown until June, the Government was set to miss another Covid-19 testing goal, and Captain Tom Moore celebrated his 100th birthday after his NHS fundraiser passed £30 million.
England's death toll rises to 20,131
The NHS reported 391 new deaths in England, taking the country's total to 20,131.
Of the 391 new deaths:
- 78 occurred on April 29
- 140 occurred on April 28
- 42 occurred on April 27
The figures also show 102 of the new deaths took place between April 1 and April 26 while the remaining 29 deaths occurred in March, with the earliest new death taking place on March 12.
NHS England releases updated figures each day showing the dates of every coronavirus-related death in hospitals in England.
They often include previously uncounted deaths that took place several days or even weeks ago.
This is because of the time it takes for deaths to be confirmed as testing positive for Covid-19, for post-mortem examinations to be processed and for data from the tests to be validated.
The figures published by NHS England show April 8 continues to have the highest number for the most hospital deaths occurring on a single day, with a current total of 863.
Death toll rises to 1,475 in Scotland
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said 1,475 coronavirus patients have died in Scotland, up by 60 from 1,415 on Wednesday.
She said 11,353 people have now tested positive for the virus in Scotland, up by 319 from 11,034 the day before.
There are 1,748 people in hospital with confirmed or suspected Covid-19 up 21 from 1,727 the previous day, Ms Sturgeon added.
Of these patients 109 are in intensive care, a drop of five.
Ms Sturgeon warned that next week may be too early to safely lift any of the restrictions of the lockdown, now in its sixth week.
She said "real progress" has been made on tackling the spread of the virus and the R number, or infection rate, is believed to be below one.
It means each person infected with the virus passes it on to less than one other person, and is down from above three at the start of the lockdown.
However, she said these gains are too "fragile" to enable her to be confident that lockdown restrictions can be eased at the next review date of May 7, but this will be kept under review over the next week.
Deaths rise to 908 in Wales and 347 in Northern Ireland
Wales' death toll increased to 908 after 22 new fatalities were reported.
Public Health Wales said a further 183 people had tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 9,812.
Northern Ireland's Health Minister Robin Swann announced nine further deaths, bringing the total in the region to 347.
Mr Swann Swann said the spread of Covid-19 so far across the community "has not been as serious as we first feared", but he warned against complacency.
He said: "That does not mean the warnings were misplaced, it means the warnings were taken seriously and people stayed at home.
"Northern Ireland remains on a knife edge."
Government set to miss April testing goal
Health Secretary Matt Hancock had set an ambitious goal of 100,000 coronavirus tests a day by the end of April.
It appeared it would be the Government's latest failure when it comes to testing.
Justice Secretary Buckland has admitted the target probably wouldn't be reached on time.
NHS Providers, which represents hospitals and NHS trusts in England, said the target was a "red herring" which has distracted attention from failings in the long-term Covid-19 strategy.
With 800,000 people working for the NHS, as many as 120,000 tests would be needed daily for those staff once the UK comes out of lockdown, said NHS Providers chief executive Chris Hopson.
In a report released on Tuesday, NHS Providers said the English health and care system "started from a poor position" as Covid-19 tightened its grip on Europe, and consistently struggled to demonstrate a "clear, effective and well communicated strategy", with a lack of clarity on who would be tested, when, how, and with what frequency.
Mr Hopson pointed to mass testing capabilities in Germany and South Korea, saying: "If you look at the international experience, having the right testing regime is absolutely crucial in conquering this virus."
His comments came as a survey revealed a rising number of Britons believe the Government did not act quickly enough in dealing with the outbreak.
Two-thirds of adults think ministers brought in strict measures to deal with the emergency too late, a rise from 57% two weeks ago, the Ipsos Mori survey found.
The snapshot poll said people are also becoming less concerned about the risks to them personally from the outbreak.
In the past month, the percentage of people expressing concern about the risk to themselves over time has dropped nine points to stand at 69%.
The number of people who say they are "very concerned" for the country as a whole has dropped to 49% from 63% when lockdown began in March.
However, confidence in how the NHS can deal with the crisis has grown.
Doctor's death probed by NHS trust
The Royal Berkshire NHS Trust has launched an investigation into the death of one of its doctors, Peter Tun, 62, who had begged his hospital for better protection against Covid-19.
Dr Tun requested access to more personal protective equipment (PPE) numerous times, but contracted the virus and died on April 13, the Guardian reported.
He sent emails to managers at the Royal Berkshire Hospital on March 23 but was told that, as his ward had no confirmed cases of Covid-19, it was not a priority, the report added.
He was told his team could not even have surgical masks and that resources needed to be used "sensibly", despite the fact that two members of his team were self-isolating at the time.
Celebrations as Captain Tom Moore turns 100
Second World War veteran Captain Tom Moore's fundraiser for NHS Charities Together has passed the £30 million mark on his 100th birthday.
The national hero, from Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire, received birthday cards from thousands of strangers and the milestone was marked on Thursday morning with flypast of Spitfire and Hurricane aircraft and greetings from the likes of the Queen.
Captain Moore said: "Reaching 100 is quite something. Reaching 100 with such interest in me and huge generosity from the public is very overwhelming.
"People keep saying what I have done is remarkable, however it's actually what you have done for me which is remarkable.
"I felt a little frustrated and disappointed after I broke my hip and it knocked my confidence.
"However, the past three weeks have put a spring back in my step. I have renewed purpose and have thoroughly enjoyed every second of this exciting adventure, but I can't keep walking forever."
To celebrate his birthday, he was appointed the first Honorary Colonel of the Army Foundation College, based near his boyhood home in Harrogate, North Yorkshire.
The position came with the approval of the Queen.
His proud daughter, Hannah Ingram-Moore, said it is time for her father to take a rest.
She told the BBC the 100-year-old has "touched the hearts of many people around the world" and brought hope at a time of darkness.
Ms Ingram-Moore added: "We've said, 'look, take a little rest now'."
Captain Moore had initially set out to raise £1,000 for the NHS by walking 100 laps of his garden to mark his 100th birthday.
His story was one of the most positive to emerge at the height of the crisis and he became a national hero.
Home testing kits give yes or no answer
In other developments, scientists have said home testing kits that can diagnose the disease with a simple yes or no answer could be ready for use by autumn.
The hand-held device, which looks like a home pregnancy test, is being developed by researchers at the University of Manchester.
The prototype detects the presence of the virus by examining the "chains of sugars" that coat all human cells.
Initial findings of a study aimed at tracking the spread of coronavirus in the general population are expected to be presented early next week.
A total of 8,877 fines for alleged breaches of coronavirus lockdown laws were issued by police forces in England between March 27 and April 27, the National Police Chiefs' Council said.
The Competition and Markets Authority said it is investigating complaints about nurseries and childcare providers, wedding companies and those offering holiday accommodation failing to provide refunds to customers.
It said complaints around cancellations and refunds account for four in five of those being received by its Covid-19 taskforce.
A fifth of high street stores plan to stay closed permanently after the coronavirus lockdown unwinds, retail leaders have told MPs.
Andrew Goodacre, chief executive of the British Independent Retailers Association, told the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Select Committee it has been the "worst time ever for retail" after the pandemic hit the UK.
Two-thirds of businesses have applied for Government help paying wage bills for furloughed staff, but less than a fifth have received support so far, according to official figures.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the Government's coronavirus job retention scheme was the most popular support programme, with 66 per cent of firms surveyed having applied.
Figures from UK Finance revealed that the rate of Government loans had slowed from last week.
Nearly £1.33 billion in loans were approved in the seven days to Tuesday.
UK Finance said £1.45 billion had been approved in the previous seven days.
