A further 77 people have died in the UK after testing positive for coronavirus – the lowest since the lockdown began.
No new deaths were recorded in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The latest Department of Health figures for a 24-hour period up to 5pm on Saturday take total deaths with a positive test in all settings – including care homes – to 40,542.
However, the actual figure is believed to be more than 50,000 as many people are believed to have died with the virus in the community without being tested.
The latest daily UK update also showed another 1,326 people had tested positive for COVID-19 after 142,123 tests were carried out – with nearly 5.6 million done in total.
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Scotland recorded no new coronavirus deaths for the first time since lockdown started in March.
The daily figures for each UK nation are:
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- Scotland – 0 new deaths – total remains 2,415
- Northern Ireland – 0 new deaths – total remains 537
- England – 72 new deaths – total hospital deaths 27,430 (36,192 in all settings)
- Wales – 5 new deaths – total 1,398
Individual health authorities in the home nations collate their numbers at different times throughout the day and so they may not tally up to the UK government's overall daily total.
Scotland's health secretary urged caution in "reading too much into today's figures" and reminded people that the number of deaths reported at the weekend is often lower.
"It is still very likely further COVID deaths will be reported in the days ahead," said Jeane Freeman.
As the trend for fewer deaths and cases in the UK nations continues, Health Secretary Matt Hancock warned the ongoing Black Lives Matter protests could cause infections to rise.
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