London, (Samajweekly) Another 34,460 people in the UK have tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 7,530,103, according to official figures released Wednesday.
The country also recorded another 166 coronavirus-related deaths, Xinhua news agency reported.
The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in the UK now stands at 135,621. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test.
The latest data came as British Transport Secretary Grant Shapps told lawmakers that the government is “working as quickly as possible” to scrap PCR tests for fully vaccinated international travellers after their arrival in the country.
The UK government recently announced its intention for people from non-red list countries who have had both doses of the vaccine to be able to use cheaper lateral flow tests instead.
Meanwhile, scientists at the Rosaline Franklin Institute, a British national research institute, have found llamas produce a unique kind of antibody, known as nanobodies, which they believe could offer new treatment against COVID-19, administered as a nasal spray.
Nanobodies, a smaller and simpler form of antibody produced by llamas and camels, can effectively target the novel coronavirus, new research published in the journal Nature Communication has found.
Public Health England hailed the research as offering “significant potential for both the prevention and treatment of Covid-19” and added that the nanobodies “are among the most effective SARS-CoV-2 neutralising agents we have ever tested”.
The nanobodies were found to be binding to the virus particles in cell cultures and could provide a cheaper and easier form of treatment compared to antibodies harvested from humans and shared through an infusion.
Meanwhile, more than 89 percent of people aged 16 and over in the UK have had their first dose of vaccine and more than 82 per cent have received both doses, the latest figures showed.
