The number of deaths involving coronavirus registered each week in England and Wales has dropped below 100 for the first time in nearly nine months.

A total of 95 deaths registered in the week ending May 28 mentioned Covid-19 on the death certificate, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

It is the first time the number has been below 100 since the week to September 11.

It is also the lowest total since the week to September 4.

The figures reflect the steady fall in Covid deaths since January, with the combined impact of social restrictions and the vaccine rollout continuing to drive down the spread of the virus.

Just 12 care home resident deaths involving coronavirus in England and Wales were registered in the week to May 28 – the lowest number since the pandemic began.

In total, 42,498 care home residents in England and Wales have had Covid-19 recorded on their death certificate, the ONS said.

These figures cover deaths of care home residents in all settings, not just in care homes.

Of all the deaths registered in England and Wales in the week to May 28, around one in 100 mentioned Covid-19 on the death certificate.

This is the lowest proportion since the week to September 11.

At the peak of the second wave in January, coronavirus was mentioned on nearly half of all death certificates.

Covid-19 deaths among people in all age groups 70 and over have fallen by at least 99% since the second-wave peak, PA analysis also shows.

Among people aged 90 and over, 13 deaths occurred in England and Wales in the week ending May 21, down from 2,048 in the week ending January 22: a drop of 99.4%.

Deaths for those aged 85 to 89 fell by 99.1% in the same period, with drops of 99.4% for those aged 80-84, 99.7% for 75 to 79-year-olds and 99.4% for 70 to 74-year-olds.

Deaths that occurred in the most recent week of reporting, the week to May 28, are still being registered.

Meanwhile a total of 153,371 deaths have now occurred in the UK where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate, the ONS said.

The highest number of deaths to occur on a single day was 1,480 on January 19.

During the first wave of the virus, the daily death toll peaked at 1,461 deaths on April 8 2020.