London, (Samajweekly) Another 1,671 people in Britain have tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 4,420,201, according to official figures released on Sunday.
The country also reported another 14 coronavirus-related deaths. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 127,538. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test, Xinhua reported.
More than 34.5 million people have been given the first jab of the coronavirus vaccine, according to the latest official figures.
Meanwhile, more than 15 million people across the UK have now had both doses of a coronavirus vaccine, which means a majority of the elderly and most vulnerable are fully inoculated against Covid-19.
British media reported on Sunday that daily lateral flow tests could be used as a way to prevent home-isolation for those who have been in contact with someone who tested positive for coronavirus.
Currently, these people are required to quarantine at home for 10 days but the measure could be scrapped if a trial in England which gives daily lateral flow tests to as many as 40,000 people is successful, Sky News reported.
The trial will begin on May 9 and close contacts of people with coronavirus will be contacted by phone and sent seven days of the tests if they decide to participate in the study.
They will have to test themselves every morning for seven days. They will be exempt from the home isolation rule every day they test negative, as long as they do not show any symptoms of coronavirus.
Lateral flow tests give results in about 30 minutes but are considered less sensitive than PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests, whose results usually return in 24 hours or so, according to the BBC.
