London, (Samajweekly) Another 19,114 people in Britain have tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 3,911,573, according to official figures released on Friday.
The country also reported another 1,014 coronavirus-related deaths. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 111,264. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test, Xinhua news agency reported.
The latest figures were revealed as Downing Street confirmed that all British adults aged 50 and older are expected to be offered a first dose of the coronavirus vaccine by early May.
Nearly 11 million people in Britain have been given the first jab of the coronavirus vaccine, according to the latest official figures.
British Health Secretary Matt Hancock has confirmed that Britain remains “on track” to complete the vaccination of the top priority groups, which cover 15 million people, by mid-February. Britain aims to offer all adults their first dose by autumn.
Earlier on Friday, the British government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) said Britain’s coronavirus reproduction number, known as the R number, has dropped slightly to between 0.7 and one.
The R number, one of many indicators scientists use to determine how fast Covid-19 is spreading in the country, is slightly narrower than last week’s number, which was between 0.7 and 1.1.
The growth rate for Britain is between minus 5 per cent and minus 2 per cent, which means the number of new infections is shrinking by between 2 per cent and 5 per cent every day, according to the SAGE.
England is currently under the third national lockdown since the outbreak of the pandemic in the country. Similar restriction measures are also in place in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
