UK records another 5,587 coronavirus cases, 96 deaths in 24 hours

Another 5,587 people in Britain have tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 4,291,271, according to official figures released.

The country also reported another 96 coronavirus-related deaths. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 126,122. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test, Xinhua news agency reported on Saturday.

More than 26.8 million people in Britain have been given the first jab of the coronavirus vaccine, according to the latest official figures.

Britain broke the daily jab record for a second day in a row with more than 711,000 doses administered on Friday, the data showed.

More than half of Britain's adult population have now received the first dose, a milestone hailed by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson as a "fantastic achievement".

The National Health Service (NHS) England has warned that Britain is going to face a "significant reduction" in vaccine supplies from March 29 onwards.

British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said Thursday that a need to retest 1.7 million vaccine doses as well as delays to doses arriving from India are the reasons why Britain is facing a "tighter" supply in Covid jabs next month. But the British government insisted that the country is on course to offer all adults a dose by the end of July.

To bring life back to normal, countries such as Britain, China, Germany, Russia and the United States have been racing against time to roll out coronavirus vaccines.

--IANS

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