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News > United Kingdom

UK Records Highest Daily Increase in Coronavirus Cases

  • A person walks past a sign at Waterloo Underground Station in London, Britain, on Dec. 16, 2020.

    A person walks past a sign at Waterloo Underground Station in London, Britain, on Dec. 16, 2020. | Photo: Tim Ireland/Xinhua

Published 4 January 2021
Opinion

It was the seventh day in a row that daily new cases have topped 50,000 in Britain.

According to official figures released Monday, another 58,784 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, marking the highest daily increase in coronavirus cases since the pandemic began in the country.

It was the seventh day in a row that daily new cases have topped 50,000 in Britain. The total number of coronavirus cases in the country now stands at 2,713,563, the data showed.

Another 407 have died within 28 days of a positive test, bringing the total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain to 75,431, it showed.

Meanwhile, according to Sky News, Britain's coronavirus alert level is likely to be raised from Level Four to Level Five, quoting government sources.

Level Five or "red" means there is a "material risk of healthcare services being overwhelmed," and there should be "extremely strict social distancing."

According to a Downing Street spokesman, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will make a televised address at 2000 GMT on Monday to set out "further steps" to fight the spread of COVID-19.

Earlier on Monday, Johnson said there is "no question we will have to take tougher measures," pledging that the British government would "do everything we can to keep the virus under control."

There are "tough, tough" weeks ahead in the fight against COVID-19, the prime minister said during a visit to a vaccination center as Britain on Monday started the national rollout of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine.

Photo taken on Jan. 1, 2021, shows the Westminster Bridge in London, Britain. (Photo by Ray Tang/Xinhua)

London and many other parts of England have already been under the highest Tier Four restrictions, which require residents in the areas to stay at home, with limited exemptions.

Under the Tier Four rules, people are also urged to work from home when they can and should not enter or leave those areas. People should also not mix with anyone outside their own household, apart from support bubbles.

On Monday, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced that Scotland would enter a new lockdown from midnight on Monday and a shutdown of schools until Feb. 1.

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