UK records another 2,491 coronavirus cases, 38 deaths

2021-04-14 17:05:16 GMT2021-04-15 01:05:16(Beijing Time) Xinhua English

LONDON, April 14 (Xinhua) -- Another 2,491 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 4,378,305, according to official figures released Wednesday.

The country also reported another 38 coronavirus-related deaths. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 127,161. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test.

According to government figures, more than 500 genomically confirmed cases of the variant related to South Africa have been detected in Britain.

More than 32.3 million people have been given the first jab of the coronavirus vaccine, according to the latest official figures.

In the latest development, surge testing is to take place on Thursday in an area of north London after cases of the variant of COVID-19 related to South Africa were detected there.

It is believed the current vaccines may be less effective against the variants first emerged in South Africa and Brazil.

Professor Peter Openshaw, a member of the COVID-19 clinical information network, told the BBC: "A lot of we scientists are very concerned about what's happening at the moment."

"If we get rapid spread of the South African or other more resistant variants, it may well be that we are going to have to put the reductions of lockdown into reverse," Openshaw said.

All shops reopened from Monday along with hairdressers, beauty salons and other close-contact services.

Restaurants and pubs were allowed to serve food and alcohol to customers sitting outdoors. Meanwhile, gyms, spas, zoos, theme parks, libraries and community centers can all open.

On May 17, restaurants and pubs are expected be allowed to resume indoor service and see most rules on gathering outdoors lifted.

Experts have warned that despite progress in vaccine rollout, Britain is "still not out of the woods" amid concerns over new variants and the third wave of pandemic in the European continent.

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

| PRINT | RSS