Almost 500 Covid-19 deaths have been registered in just one day, the latest government figures reveal. 

On Wednesday the deaths of 492 more people were recorded, bringing the UK’s total death toll to 47,742. 

Of those, 388 were reported in England, 50 in Scotland, 44 in Wales and 10 in Northern Ireland. 

It is the first time since May 19 that the daily death toll has exceeded 450 and comes just a week after deaths exceeded 300 a day on Tuesday, October 28. 

On Saturday the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in the UK surpassed one million, with 25,177 revealed to have tested positive in a 24-hour period on Wednesday. The total number of cases now stands at 1,099,059.

England is set to enter a month-long national lockdown on Thursday amid a sharp increase in Covid-19 cases, hospitalisations and deaths. 

Office of National Statistics (ONS) figures released on Tuesday morning reveals that the weekly coronavirus death toll in England and Wales has rocketed by 45% in just seven days – with 978 people dying after contracting the virus in the week to October 23. 

This is 308 more deaths than in the previous week, during which 670 deaths were reported.