Weekly coronavirus deaths registered in England and Wales are at their highest level since mid-May, figures show.
There were 109 deaths registered in the week ending July 2 where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.
This is up 10% from the 99 deaths involving coronavirus registered during the previous seven days.
And it is the highest number since the week ending May 14, when 151 deaths involving coronavirus were registered.
The number of deaths has been fluctuating at about 100 for the last few weeks, and it is too early to say whether the latest rise marks the start of an upwards trend.
England is due to enter Step 4 of the Government’s road map out of coronavirus restrictions next Monday.
It will see the scrapping of most remaining restrictions, including the legal requirement to wear a face mask, social distancing and limits on how many people can gather.
The Government has acknowledged that there will be more cases, hospital admissions and deaths as the country moves into the next step.
The ONS figures also show that care home resident deaths involving coronavirus are up slightly from the previous week.
Some 11 care home resident deaths involving Covid-19 were registered in the week to July 2, up from 10 deaths in the previous seven days.
In total, 42,567 care home residents in England and Wales have had Covid-19 recorded on their death certificate since the pandemic began.
The ONS figures cover deaths of care home residents in all settings, not just in care homes.
Overall, 154,099 deaths have now occurred in the UK where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate, the ONS said.
The highest number of deaths to occur on a single day was 1,481 on January 19.
