A further 1,610 people have died within 28 days of testing positive for COVID-19 – the highest number of UK deaths on a single day since the outbreak began.
Meanwhile, a further 33,355 confirmed coronavirus cases were also recorded in the past 24 hours, according to Public Health England (PHE).
That compares with figures released on Monday of 599 further deaths and 37,535 confirmed cases.
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It comes as the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said at least one in eight people in England had had COVID-19 by December last year.
The figures for private households are part of the Infection Survey in partnership with the University of Oxford, University of Manchester, PHE and Wellcome Trust.
They are based on the proportion of the population who are likely to have tested positive for antibodies to COVID-19, based on blood test results from a sample of people aged 16 and over.
The ONS says the figures equate to approximately 5.4 million people in England having previously had the infection.
And earlier, Dr Jenny Harries, one of England’s deputy chief medical officers, suggested schools might not all reopen at the same time across England as lockdown restrictions are eased.
Dr Harries said there was “likely” to be regional differences in COVID measures because “we will not have consistent patterns of infection in our communities across the country”.