London (UK), October 12 : Another 40,224 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 8,193,769, according to official figures released Monday.
The country also recorded another 28 coronavirus-related deaths. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 137,763. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test.
There are currently 6,728 patients in hospital with COVID-19 in Britain.
The data came as British Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi and Health Secretary Sajid Javid have jointly written to parents of secondary school and college students, urging them to ensure their children are testing regularly and encouraging them to get vaccinated against coronavirus.
Official estimates showed that around 270,000 secondary pupils had COVID-19 in the week to Oct. 2.
Meanwhile, new data showed that England's rate of new COVID cases has climbed to its highest level since the summer this year.
A total of 201,660 cases were recorded in the seven days to Oct. 7, the equivalent of 356.6 cases per 100,000 people.
This is the highest figure since July 24, when the seven-day rate stood at 375.1, according to analysis by the PA news agency.
More than 85 percent of people aged 12 and over in Britain have had their first dose of vaccine and more than 78 percent have received both doses, the latest figures showed.
To bring life back to normal, countries such as Britain, China, Germany, Russia and the United States have been racing against time to roll out coronavirus vaccines.
Source: Xinhua
