The increasing number of deaths in the UK was expected, unfortunately, after the increase in cases in December.
And it is likely that in the coming weeks you will see even greater numbers than that.
Today’s numbers, however, are inflated by the fact that delays in recording deaths over the weekend tend to cause higher numbers to be reported on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
On average, the UK reports more than 1,100 deaths per day.
To put that into context, at Christmas it was less than half of that.
But there are two slots of light in the daily update.
First, the number of cases is below 40,000 – for the third consecutive day. At the turn of the year, it reached 60,000 new diagnoses.
This means that, in the coming weeks, we should start to have fewer hospitalizations and, eventually, deaths.
The number of vaccinations is also increasing.
It seems unlikely that the NHS will be able to reach its goal of two million doses per week yet.
But each increase brings us at least one step closer to overcoming the virus.