UK Covid cases have risen by 13% in a week as 209 more people die with the virus, compared to just 50 last Tuesday.
A further 37,489 cases have been reported. Yesterday the UK passed the seven million cases milestone.
The news comes shortly after a top scientist warned Brits to prepare for a serious spike in cases this autumn.
A return to school for children, coupled with more people heading back to offices, means there will be a greater opportunity for the virus to spread, said Prof John Edmunds, of the government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage).
A hospital in Wales has flipped from amber to red Covid status after a surge in serious cases.
A leading doctor has warned that coronavirus patients now make up majority of intensive care patients at Aneurin Bevan Health Board.
Intensive care consultant Ami Jones said that staff were "pretty gutted" to see what she describes as the next wave of coronavirus patients, Wales Online reports.
Latest figures show that there are now more people in intensive care with Covid-19 in Wales than there were when it announced a firebreak lockdown last year.
There were 47 Covid-19 patients in invasive ventilated beds - where the most serious hospital admissions are treated - in Wales as of Friday, September 3, according to the most recent data from StatsWales.
That is more than there were on October 19 last year, the day the Welsh Government announced the country would enter a "short, sharp" firebreak lockdown for 17 days to curb rising cases and relieve pressure on health services.
A total 53 cases of the new 'Mu' Covid variant have been documented in England, official figures show.
Public Health England (PHE) released the figures tallying cases of the variant on Tuesday.
The 'Mu' strain is among the latest to be officially listed as a 'variant under investigation' by health authorities.
The variant at first emerged in the UK in May, and since the last update a further five cases have been recorded by September 1, in the latest update since late August.
As of August 30, no deaths had been linked to the strain, according to PHE's figures.
Fewer than five cases had resulted in visits to emergency departments.
A total 33 of the cases were in patients aged over 50, and the PHE figures did not record whether those who became infected were vaccinated.
