The UK has recorded more than 23,250 coronavirus cases overnight as the death toll rose by 162.
Another 23,254 Covid-19 infections were recorded in the past 24 hours, the Government said.
This brings the total number of cases reported since the start of the pandemic to 1,034,914, after the country passed the one million mark yesterday.
A further 162 fatalities were confirmed overnight, bringing the official death toll to 46,717.
However, separate figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show more than 62,000 deaths have so far been registered across the UK where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate.
Meanwhile, a further 137 people who tested positive for the virus were confirmed to have died in England’s hospitals.
This brings the total number of Covid deaths reported in the country’s hospitals to 32,992, NHS England said.
Patients were aged between 45 and 103. All except five, aged between 45 and 81, had known underlying health conditions.
The latest data comes as England prepares to enter a second national lockdown from next Thursday.
Announcing the move from Downing Street on Saturday night, Boris Johnson said “no responsible Prime Minister can ignore” the rising rates of Covid-19 infections, as he acknowledged that cases had not come down fast enough in the worst affected areas.
“We know the cost of these restrictions – the impact on jobs and livelihoods, and people’s mental health. No-one wants to be imposing these measures,” he stressed.
The PM warned that the virus is “spreading even faster than the reasonable worst-case scenario of our scientific advisers”.
He said: “Unless we act, we could see deaths in this country running at several thousand a day – a peak of mortality, alas, bigger than the one we saw in April.”
Mr Johnson said overrunning of the NHS would be a “medical and moral disaster, beyond the raw loss of life”.
Under the new restriction:
– Millions of people classed as clinically vulnerable to coronavirus will be told to take “extra precautions” but will not be formally asked to shield.
– Travel and overnight stays in the UK and abroad will be restricted as people are advised not to travel unless for essential reasons.
– “Rapid turnaround tests” for coronavirus will be rolled out in “a matter of days”, and the Army will be brought in to help distribute the swabs, which could help partners attend labour wards.
– Churches will remain open for private prayer, funerals will be limited to 30 people – although it is advised that only close family members attend – and weddings are only allowed in “exceptional circumstances”.
– Single-adult households will continue to be allowed to form a “support bubble” with one other household, and children can move between homes if their parents are separated.
– Job centres, courts and civil registration offices will remain open, and elite sport will be allowed to continue behind closed doors.
A snap poll by YouGov suggested 72 per cent of people in England back the plan to return to lockdown, with just one in four (23 per cent) opposing it.
However, it compares to 93 per cent who supported the first lockdown in March, with the drop in support highest among young people.
The poll of 2,258 English adults was carried out between October 31 and November 1, and after Mr Johnson finished speaking on Saturday evening.
