The UK’s coronavirus death toll has exceeded 300 for the second day in a row as the country battles another surge in infections.
On Wednesday, the deaths of 310 more people were recorded, bringing the UK’s total death toll to 45,675.
Of those, 236 were reported in England, while Scotland accounted for 28 of the fatalities.
In Northern Ireland, the deaths of nine more people were recorded, while 37 were also reported in Wales.
It comes just a day after the daily death count topped 350 for the first time since May, with the Covid-19 deaths of 367 people added to the government’s coronavirus dashboard.
The grim milestone prompted calls for Boris Johnson to impose a stricter lockdown, with the government’s own scientific advisors warning that the coronavirus death toll could remain high throughout winter.
Sir Mark Walport, a member of the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), told the BBC on Wednesday it was “certainly not unrealistic” to think of 25,000 people being in hospital with Covid-19 by the end of November.
The PM has so far resisted calls for a “circuit breaker” lockdown in England, preferring to stick to regional restrictions.
However, cases across the UK continue to rise, with 24,701 new infections reported on Wednesday.
It means that 942,275 people have now tested positive for the virus in the UK.