The UK's coronavirus death toll has soared by another grim figure as 1,631 fatalities are recorded - the highest Tuesday death toll since the pandemic began.

But today's official figures from the Department of Health show new cases have dipped again to the lowest number in recent days - 20,089, a sharp dip on last Tuesday's cases total of 30,501.

This is also a dip on the new cases total of 22,195 for yesterday, Monday, which is a day in the week when figures are traditionally lower due to a weekend lag in reporting.

This brings the Department of Health's official death toll for fatalities within 28 days of a positive test to 100,162.

Earlier today separate Office for National Statistics showed the UK had surpassed the grim milestone of 100,000 deaths by January 15.

Today's figures are the highest since last Wednesday when 1,820 deaths were recorded, in the worst day of the pandemic.

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Syringes are filled with the Oxford Astra Zeneca Covid-19 vaccine at the Brighton Centre in East Sussex, which opened today (
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Mr Hancock said: "My thoughts are with each and every person who has lost a loved one - behind these heart-breaking figures are friends, families and neighbours.

"I know how hard the last year has been, but I also know how strong the British public’s determination is and how much we have all pulled together to get through this.

"We’re undertaking a huge national effort to vaccinate the most vulnerable people in our society, with over 6.5 million jabs across the UK to date, and thanks to the brilliance of our scientists and clinicians we know more today about this terrible new virus and how to beat it.

"The vaccine offers is the way out, but we cannot let up now and we sadly still face a tough period ahead. The virus is still spreading and we’re seeing over 3,500 people per day being admitted into hospital.

Tributes are left on the railings of Lewes Road Bus Garage in memory of bus driver Christopher Turnham who died of Covid-19 last Wednesday at the age of 58 (
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"The single most important thing we must all do now is stay at home to save lives and protect our NHS.”

Over the last seven days alone, the DoH has recorded 8,692 deaths and 222,898 new positive cases.

It comes as Boris Johnson is set to give a coronavirus press conference at 5pm tonight, the government announced just today.

He is expected to talk about the UK death toll, amid frenzied talks about vaccines and the UK border as the EU last night threatened to restrict exports of the Pfizer vaccine from Belgium to the UK after its deliveries of the parallel AstraZeneca jab were cut.

NHS boss Sir Simon Stevens was questioned by MPs after the EU threatened to put new controls on the Pfizer vaccine moving from Belgium to the UK.

He admitted "of course there is a supply shortage" of  coronavirus  vaccines.

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He told MPs: "If there were unlimited vaccines then you wouldn't see what the European Commission were saying yesterday.

“You wouldn't see Italy attempting to sue one of the manufacturers, you wouldn't see Germany in uproar as it is today."

Separate Office for National Statistics figures released this morning suggested the number of Covid deaths registered in the UK has passed 100,000 as, by January 15, coronavirus had been mentioned on 103,704 death certificates (while a a further 7,698 deaths have been confirmed since - meaning the total now stands at around 115,782).

Today's numbers from the Department of Health follow yesterday's death toll of 592 - which was the lowest reported since Christmas Eve, when 575 people tragically lost their lives.

Another 22,195 positive cases were recorded yesterday, a significant drop from last Monday's total of 37, 535 as case numbers continue to fall.

Deaths involving Covid-19 in the UK (
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Press Association Images)

Yesterday, the total number of new infections fell by 15,340 week-on-week to levels last recorded in mid-December, as the impact of the third national lockdown finally begins to be felt.

Meanwhile over the weekend, on Sunday 610 deaths were recorded and the number of people testing positive for the virus in 24 hours was 30,004, with cases dropping by 22 per cent in the last seven days compared to the week before.

And on Saturday, the death toll rose by 1,348 and a further 33,552 cases were confirmed in the 24-hour period.

Today's death toll is the worst on a Tuesday since the pandemic began.

The second worst Tuesday death toll in the pandemic was this time last week, Tuesday, January 19, when 1,610 deaths were recorded.

While death tolls remain high, dipping case numbers provide signs that the vaccination programme has already started to drive down Covid infection rates.

However, today the government's Covid-19 vaccine minister, Nadhim Zahawi, said it was too early to say if there would be a return to normality by the summer.

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He said: "I think it's far too early.

"There's still 37,000 people in hospital with Covid at the moment, it's far too early for us to even speculate about the summer."

The UK is one of just five countries to pass the grim milestone of 100,000 deaths, following the USA, India, Mexico and Brazil, meaning it has the highest death toll in Europe.