The UK has recorded 1,239 more Covid-related deaths since Wednesday.

Thursday’s figure brings the total number of fatalities to 103,126 since the pandemic began. That refers to people who have died within 28 days of first testing positive for coronavirus.

The latest government figures also reveal that 28,680 more people have now tested positive for Covid-19, the highest tally of this week. It brings the total number of cases since the start of the pandemic in the UK to 3,743,734.

The total number of deaths passed 100,000 on Tuesday, leading prime minister Boris Johnson to say he was “deeply sorry” for every life lost and that the government “truly did everything we could”.

The highest number of deaths recorded on a single day was 1,820 on January 20.

Around four-fifths of people aged 80 and over in most regions of England have now received their first dose of either the AstraZeneca or Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine.

A total of 6,918,853 vaccinations had taken place in England between December 8 and January 27, according to provisional NHS England data, including first and second doses, which is a rise of 252,992 on the previous day’s figures.