The number of people who have died in the UK after testing positive for coronavirus has risen by 154.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said 43,081 people had died in hospitals, care homes and the wider community after testing positive for coronavirus in the UK as of 5pm on Tuesday.
The Government figures do not include all deaths involving Covid-19 across the UK, which are thought to have passed 54,000.
The DHSC also said in the 24-hour period up to 9am on Wednesday, 232,086 tests were carried out or dispatched, with 653 positive results. Overall, a total of 8,542,186 tests have been carried out and 306,862 cases have been confirmed positive.
Earlier NHS England announced a further 51 people have died in hospital after testing positive for coronavirus, or where Covid-19 was the direct or underlying cause.
This brings the total number of confirmed reported deaths in hospitals in England to 28,435.
Patients were aged between 48 and 96 years old and all had known underlying health conditions.
The South West reported no deaths for the second consecutive day and was the only region not to record any coronavirus-related fatalities in the latest figures.
Meanwhile, Public Health Wales said a further eight people had died after testing positive for Covid-19.
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This takes the total number of deaths to 1,491, while the total number of cases increased by 47 to 15,341.
And in Scotland a total of 2,480 patients have died after testing positive, up by four from 2,476 on Tuesday, Nicola Sturgeon said.
The figures are lower than the 4,119 deaths given earlier by the National Records of Scotland as they do not include suspected and probable coronavirus infections.
Speaking during First Minister’s Questions in the Scottish Parliament, Ms Sturgeon said 18,191 people have tested positive for the virus in Scotland, up by nine from 18,182 the previous day.
There are 880 people in hospital with confirmed or suspected Covid-19, an increase of 15.
Of these patients, 23 were in intensive care, a rise of two.
One further coronavirus-linked death was announced in Northern Ireland on Wednesday, with the death toll recorded by the Department of Health rising to 547.
Meanwhile, two new cases were confirmed through tests conducted in health trust labs in the region, bringing the total recorded by the labs since the outbreak began to 4,873.
