UK's daily Covid-19 cases pass 32,000 for first time since January

Britain has reported another 32,548 coronavirus cases in the latest 24-hour period, the highest daily increase since January, according to official figures released on Wednesday.

The total number of coronavirus cases in the country now stands at 4,990,916, the Xinhua news agency reported.

The country also recorded another 33 coronavirus-related deaths, bringing the total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain to 128,301. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test.

More than 45.5 million people in Britain have received the first jab of Covid-19 vaccine and over 34 million people have received two doses, the official figures showed.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Monday that most Covid-19 restrictions are set to end on July 19 as part of the final step of England's roadmap out of the lockdown.

This will be confirmed on July 12 following a review of the latest data by the British government.

The plans were greeted with mixed reactions.

Leader of the main opposition Labour Party Keir Starmer accused Johnson of putting the country on course for a "summer of chaos and confusion" with his plans, Sky News reported.

But when answering questions at the parliament, Johnson said that the government was taking a prudent approach by "moving away from self-isolation towards testing over the course of the next few weeks", according to media reports.

To bring life back to normal, countries such as Britain, China, Russia, the US as well as the European Union have been racing against time to roll out coronavirus vaccines.

--IANS

int/rs