Tougher national lockdown measures could be reimposed if the coronavirus infection rate increases, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said.

The government has already said it is prepared to put local lockdowns in place in response to flare-ups of the virus.

But speaking at the Downing Street briefing on Monday, Mr Hancock said the national lockdown could be reintroduced.

He said: "We are attempting to move the system from these national, blanket measures to a more targeted approach - this is why test and trace is such an important part of that.

"But we have always said that we are prepared to reintroduce measures - whether that is nationally or in response to a localised outbreak - if that is necessary."

Matt Hancock said there was a range of measures available to combat local flare-ups of coronavirus.

It could mean "shutting to new admissions a hospital A&E if there was an outbreak in that hospital", he said.

The powers available were as broad as the "legal toolkit" that was used for the national lockdown, he said.

Local directors of public health would work with regional Public Health England and NHS teams "to make sure we got the response right".

39,045 people have died in hospitals, care homes and the wider community after testing positive for coronavirus in the UK as of 5pm on Sunday.

The figure was up by 556 from the 38,489 deaths announced on Sunday but Mr Hancock said the figures had increased by only 111. The Department of Health has yet to explain the discrepancy.

In the 24-hour period up to 9am on Monday, 128,437 tests were carried out or dispatched with 1,570 positive results.

Overall, a total of 4,484,340 tests have been carried out and 276,332 cases have been confirmed positive.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock told the daily Downing Street press conference: "The data show that we are winning the battle against coronavirus.

"Today we are therefore able to make some cautious changes to the lockdown rules, carefully and safely."

But he warned that "the disease is not done yet".

"We must all remember that in the war against this virus we are all on the same side. We have come so far together, we can take these steps together.

"But do not step too far, the disease is not done yet.

"We mustn't throw away the progress that has been made."

The latest figures showed testing capacity was 206,444 and Health Secretary Matt Hancock said "this shows that there is extra capacity for more tests".

"Tests are available right now," he said, directing people to nhs.uk/coronavirus or the 119 phone line.