The UK has confirmed 58,899 of new cases of Covid-19 in the past 24 hours - down from 60,578 last Saturday- with deaths also down by 25%.
Official numbers showed a further 193 Brits have died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid, bringing the total deaths up to 159,518.
Last Saturday’s figures showed there were 60,578 new cases of Covid, with 259 deaths, meaning the number recorded has fallen by 25.5% in a week.
It comes as health chiefs confirmed they are monitoring a new variant identified in a British patient which is a hybrid of Omicron and Delta strains.
Dubbed Deltacron, it is believed to have developed in a patient who caught both types at the same time.
It was named by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) in its weekly "variants in monitoring" list.
Professor Paul Hunter, an infectious disease expert at the University of East Anglia, told MailOnline : “"So at the moment I'm not overly worried at the moment.
“If both Delta and Omicron are falling then, in theory, this [variant] should struggle to take off.”
Meanwhile Brits could soon be forced to pay for their own Covid tests as the Treasury is pushing to save billions by ending the free service despite fears on the impact from scientists
Covid cases are dropping in the UK with only 12 areas (three per cent of the country) having seen numbers rise .
With the rollout of vaccines and booster jabs the UK has seen the outlook brighten and overall cases, deaths and hospitalisations have been down compared to last week.
It comes with Boris Johnson expected to set out a new plan on "Living with Covid" when MPs return from recess on February 21.
Boris Johnson told MPs this week that he expects to end all restrictions, including the requirement to self-isolate following a positive test, this month – weeks earlier than scheduled.
Covid restrictions had been due to expire on March 24, but Mr Johnson told MPs he expects they can end a month sooner if the data continues to be encouraging.
It means in just over two weeks England could be returned to levels of freedom enjoyed before the pandemic, for the first time since restrictions were brought in.
