The number of weekly deaths referencing coronavirus has risen beyond 400, and increased by a third in the space of seven days, new figures show.

Some 438 deaths mentioning "novel coronavirus" were registered in England and Wales in the week ending October 9, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.

It comes as the latest infection rates for the UK saw a rise from 1.2-1.5 up to 1.3-1.5, with the current infection rate in London standing at 1.1-1.4 against 1.3-1.5 for the south East of England, according to data released on Friday (October 16).

An R number between 1.3 and 1.5 means that on average every 10 people infected will infect between 13 and 15 other people.

The 36% rise in reported deaths across the country (117 deaths) from the previous week saw the highest number of deaths involving Covid-19 since early July.

The ONS figures show that, since the week ending September 4, registered coronavirus deaths have been roughly doubling every fortnight.

The number of Covid-19 registered deaths increased in Wales and in all English regions except the East and the South East.

The North West saw the largest number of coronavirus deaths registered - 153, or 35% of the total, and the largest weekly increase (47 deaths).

It is the highest number for the region since the week ending June 12, according to the ONS.

In north-east England, 60 Covid-19 deaths were registered in the week to October 9, which again is the highest for the region since the week to June 12.

In London, the South East, the South West and the East, the overall number of deaths was below the average over five years for this period.

Of the 438 deaths, the majority occurred in hospitals (342), with 63 taking place in care homes, 28 at home, three in hospices and two elsewhere.

So far this year, 34,174 deaths involving coronavirus have occurred in hospitals, 15,712 in care homes, 2,561 in private homes, 761 in hospices, 227 in other communal establishments and 205 elsewhere.