Another 215 COVID-19 deaths and 9,834 cases have been recorded in the UK, while the number of people to have received a first vaccine dose has now surpassed 17.5 million.

In what is set to be the final update to the statistics before Boris Johnson announces his roadmap out of lockdown, the number of people who have received their first dose of a COVID vaccine has risen by 334,679 to 17,582,121.

This equates to a third (33.4 per cent) of the UK adult population.

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The number of people who have now had both jabs has hit 615,148 – up by 10,263.

The latest number of deaths is down from the 445 posted yesterday and 258 last Sunday, while cases are also down from the 10,406 and 10,972 reported on those same days.

However, there is usually a lag in reporting over the weekend, which tends to be most dramatically reflected in figures released on Sundays and Mondays.

The total number of people who have died within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test now stands at 120,580, and confirmed cases since the pandemic began have reached 4,115,509.

Both of those tallies remain the highest in Europe, with the UK fifth worldwide on both counts according to data being tracked by Johns Hopkins University.

However, the government is hoping the rapid vaccine rollout thus far will make it safe to begin easing restrictions from next month, with schools expected to return from 8 March.

The prime minister is due to make an announcement on easing lockdown measures on Monday, but the government’s next major vaccine target has already been revealed.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock confirmed earlier that all adults in the UK would be offered a vaccine by 31 July.

He said the Government is confident it has the supplies to meet the July target – and to vaccinate all adults over 50, and higher risk groups, by 15 April.

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