Britain reports record 1,610 daily COVID deaths

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain reported a record number of deaths from COVID-19 on Tuesday, government figures showed, with 1,610 people dying within 28 days of positive coronavirus test, eclipsing a previous peak set last week.

The number was steeply up from the 599 deaths reported on Monday. There is often a lag in reporting new deaths after the weekend.

There were 33,355 new cases recorded, down from the 37,535 reported on Monday.

(Reporting by Alistair Smout and Michael Holden)