Daily UK Covid deaths double in a fortnight as another 280 die but cases fall slightly after 23,065 more infected

THE number of Brits who have lost their lives to coronavirus is nearing 46,000 - as another 280 people die.

Meanwhile, 23,065 more have tested positive for the deadly bug.

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In total, 45,955 people have died with Covid since the UK's outbreak began.

However, there are encouraging signs the number of new infections is slowing.

Yesterday was the first time the daily number of cases has fallen on the amount recorded the week before since September 28.

The tally has dropped slightly again today.

It comes as:

• Boris Johnson has been urged to 'save Christmas' after it was claimed the rule of six will remain in place
• Govt scientists predict second Covid wave could be more deadly than first with ‘lower but longer peak’ death toll
• The crucial R rate is above two in parts of the south - and the virus is spreading fastest in the capital, it's claimed
• The second wave of coronavirus has killed 17 people under the age of 40
• France and Germany go into their second full lockdowns as cases rise

Fatalities are beginning to increase after infections spiked when schools and universities reopened in September.

It often takes weeks for patients to become severely ill with the virus.

Yesterday, 310 new deaths were recorded, while on Tuesday, a further 367 people were reported to have died - the highest number in more than five months.

A further 192 people died in hospitals in England. Patients were aged between 27 and 101.

All but one - who was 63 - had known underlying health conditions.

The majority of fatalities - 73 - were in the north-west, while 31 people died in the north-east and Yorkshire, 43 in the Midlands and 24 in London.

Six people died in the east, while the south-east had seven deaths and the south-west eight.

In Scotland, 1,128 new cases of Covid were reported, and 37 people died.

Meanwhile, in Wales, there were 1,375 new positive tests and 21 deaths.

The UK recorded its biggest ever infection rise of 26,688 on Wednesday, October 21.

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Despite rising cases, the Government looks set to continue resisting calls for a new national lockdown.

Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick today said Boris Johnson will refuse to bow to pressure from Sage scientists and politicians for a 'circuit-breaker' shutdown.

But the minister admitted the virus "is in a bad place in all parts of the country" as "frustrated" Brits face grinding local measures.

Business leaders and MPs have warned a second shutdown could devastate the UK's beleaguered economy.

Julian Metcalfe, the founder of Pret and Itsu, said another lockdown would be "impossible", adding: "Society will not recover if we do it again to save a few thousand lives of very old or vulnerable people. 

"The young people of this country will be paying for this for the next 20 to 30 years. It's terrible what's happening.

"Just because France does this with its socialist government, doesn't mean we have to."

Meanwhile, areas including Leeds and West Yorkshire are preparing for tougher restrictions. 

And Birmingham and the West Midlands are also reportedly heading into tier three measures.

Birmingham city council leader Ian Ward said officials "have to do something more" to stem increasing infections - and the region will fall under the toughest tier unless new cases slow.

The city has a rate of 259 new cases per 100,000 residents. By comparison, Blackburn with Darwen - which remains the UK's worst-hit area - has a rate of 774.9 cases per 100,000 people.

More areas look set to face tougher lockdown restrictions in the coming weeks.

Stockton-on-Tees, with an infection rate of 444.4 per 100,000 people - up from 360 the week before - is at the top of the list of places at risk of tumbling into tier three.

Leeds has 420.6 cases per 100,000, while the infection rate in Bristol soared by roughly 50 per cent in the last week.

The city is still only in tier one - the lower Covid alert level. But it has moved itself into a 'tier one-plus' system - despite the Government saying the level doesn't exist.

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The worrying figures come after Government scientists warned the death toll could be even greater in the second wave.

And Sage scientists have warned that by Christmas, virus rates all over the country will soar past the levels seen in areas already put into the “very high” category.