Post Desk : The death toll, which only includes people who have passed away within 28 days of testing positive for the virus, has reached 43,579.

Separate figures from the UK’s statistics agencies, meanwhile, show there have been 58,500 deaths in the UK where COVID-19 was mentioned on the death certificate.

The latest figures come as stricter lockdown measures were implemented across parts of England on Saturday to stem the spread of the illness.

Around 5% of England’s population has now been placed within Tier 3 rules – the government’s highest level of restrictions.

Other data from Saturday shows there is now 4,814 people in hospital in England with COVID-19, which is up from 3,225 a week ago.

494 of these patients are in ventilation beds. This is a rise of 98 people since last week.

In Scotland, another 15 people who tested positive for the virus died in the 24 hours to Saturday morning, according to government figures.

This brings the Scottish total number of deaths to 2,609. There were also a further 1,167 new cases reported, bringing the total to 46,399.