The number of people who died from a positive coronavirus test in the UK within 28 days rose by another 915 today. This means that the death toll according to this measure is now more than 110,000.
But after weeks of increasing deaths since mid-December, there are positive signs that deaths are finally declining.
In the past week, the daily recorded deaths were lower than each corresponding day in the previous week.
And the last time the daily death rate was below 1,000 (except on a Sunday and Monday, while the numbers are usually much lower due to delayed reporting after a weekend) was on January 5th.
That was just when lock-in restrictions were introduced and children were told not to return to school for the new term.
Much has changed since then: hospitals have been under tremendous pressure due to Covid-19 and millions of people have been vaccinated against the disease.
Confirmed cases and hospital admissions have dropped – usually an early indication that the numbers who die will also follow.
However, there are clear warnings from health officials that there should be no complacency.
Vaccinating the most vulnerable will initially reduce deaths, but it will still require millions of vaccinations for all ages 50 and those with underlying conditions to really reduce the pressure on hospitals in the country.