Latest Covid-19 figures as UK records drop in daily deaths and cases

Cases of coronavirus continue to fall in the UK, while the number of deaths has also seen a drop in recent weeks, according to the latest government data.

It comes as Covid-19 restrictions have now been lifted in England meaning self-isolation and testing is no longer a legal requirement. Other UK nations have kept the isolation rules in place.

The official public health advice from the government remains that both adults and children testing positive for the virus should stay at home for five days.

Read more: Free flu jabs could be axed for millions next winter - reports

Free testing for the general public is set to end on April 1, but some vulnerable groups will continue to get testing for free. The majority of the population will need to pay for tests after this date.

The government announced its 'Living with Covid' strategy at the end of February. It said that high vaccination rates and the milder impact of the Omicron variant had allowed the changes to be made safely.

Here's the latest coronavirus data released by the UK government, as of March 4.

According to Friday's figures, a total of 255,864 people had a confirmed positive test result between February 26 and March 4 - a decrease of -1.9% compared to the previous seven days.

Today, March 4, a total of 44,740 positive tests results were recorded in the UK.

The highest daily total this week came on Monday, February 28, when 82,451 cases were confirmed.

The cumulative total of cases in the UK since the pandemic began now stands at 19,119,181.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has released its weekly data on the number of cases estimated.

In England, around one in 30 people in private households are estimated to have had the virus in the week to February 26,