London, Jun 21 (IANS): Another 128 COVID-19 patients have died in Britain as of Friday afternoon, bringing the total coronavirus-related death toll in the country to 42,589, the British Department of Health and Social Care said.

The figures include deaths in all settings, including hospitals, care homes and the wider community.

As of Saturday morning, 303,110 people have tested positive for the disease in Britain, a daily increase of 1,295, according to the department, Xinhua news agency reported.

As of Saturday morning, there have been 7,714,201 tests of the novel coronavirus in the country, with 230,550 tests on Friday, said the department.

The coronavirus alert level across Britain was lowered from four to three on Friday after a steady decrease in COVID-19 cases in the country.

Level four means the virus is in general circulation while transmission is high or rising exponentially. Level three means the virus is in general circulation and there could be a "gradual relaxation of restrictions", according to the department.