The increasing number of deaths in the UK, today, was unfortunately to be expected after the increase in cases during December.
And probably the numbers will be even higher than in the coming weeks.
Today’s numbers, however, are inflated by the fact that delays in registering deaths over the weekend are leading to higher figures being reported on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
On average, the UK records more than 1,100 deaths per day.
To put it in context, it was less than half of it by Christmas.
But there are two lights in the daily update.
First, the number of cases is less than 40,000 – for a third day in a row. By the end of the year, there were 60,000 new diagnoses.
This means that in the coming weeks we will have to start seeing fewer hospitalizations and eventually deaths.
The number of vaccinations is also still increasing.
It seems unlikely that the NHS will still achieve its target of two million doses per week.
But each increase takes us at least one step closer to getting on top of the virus.