The UK's official coronavirus death toll passed the milestone of 20,000 on Saturday, which the Home Secretary Priti Patel described as "a deeply tragic and moving moment".
Health department figures showed a further 813 people had died in hospital after contracting COVID-19, pushing the official number of fatalities to 20,319.

The medical director of NHS England Stephen Powis and the UK's chief scientific advisor, Sir Patrick Vallance, had earlier said that keeping the number of fatalities lower than 20,000 would be "a good outcome".

"The nation today will be deeply moved by the figures of the number of people who have died," Patel said during the daily Downing Street briefing. "Every death is a tragedy."

She added: "This is a deeply tragic and moving moment."

Saturday's count was an increase on the 684 deaths reported the previous day and comes after the government claimed the virus had hit its peak.

However, there was some optimism as those diagnosed as having contracted the virus fell by 473 to 4,913, according to the same health department figures.

University of Oxford analysis also showed that the numbers dying in England may be on a downward spiral as it said a third of the 711 additional deaths recorded in the latest government figures on Saturday occurred more than a week ago.