UK registers another 25,177 coronavirus cases with 492 more deaths

Another 25,177 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 1,099,059, according to official figures released Wednesday.

The coronavirus-related deaths in Britain rose by 492 to 47,742, the highest daily increase since May 19 when 500 were reported. the data showed.

The figures were released as British lawmakers on Wednesday voted in favor of the government's month-long lockdown for England by 516 votes to 38, a majority of 478.

The latest move paved the way for the new measures, announced by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Saturday in a bid to quell the surging coronavirus infections.

Ahead of the vote, Johnson warned that Britain could suffer deaths "on a grievous scale" with hospitals in "extraordinary trouble" by next month without action.

Chief Medical Officer for England Professor Chris Whitty has also defended the government's decision, saying that the aim of the new lockdown, the second of its kind since the coronavirus outbreak began in Britain, is to get infection rates down so that the country can move to a different state in December.

Under the lockdown, which will be effective from Thursday until December 2, people in England will only be allowed to leave their homes for specific reasons, such as education, work, or food shopping.

Pubs, bars, and restaurants will close across the country except for takeaways. Non-essential shops, hairdressers, and leisure and entertainment venues will also be shut.

Meanwhile, different households will be banned from mixing, although support bubbles and childcare bubbles will remain. Gyms will be shut but people can continue to exercise outdoors, at most with one person from another household.

Schools, colleges, and universities will remain open and those who cannot work from home, such as construction or manufacturing workers, will be encouraged to continue going to their workplaces.

To bring life back to normal, countries, such as Britain, China, Russia, and the United States, are racing against time to develop coronavirus vaccines.