UK records another 40,954 new coronavirus cases

Another 40,954 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 8,853,227, according to official figures released Tuesday.

The country also reported a further 263 coronavirus-related deaths. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 139,834. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test.

There are currently 8,693 patients in hospital with COVID-19.

The latest data came as professor Lucy Chappell, chief scientific adviser to the Department of Health and Social Care, said that a COVID Plan C, further measures beyond plan B, had been "proposed".

Plan B mainly includes working from home, mandatory mask wearing and vaccine passports.With cases rising in the past days and weeks, there have been calls for more COVID restrictions to be put in place.

Meanwhile, a government spokesperson has insisted reports that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's COVID "Plan B" could last up to five months, until the end of March 2022, are "untrue" and "do not reflect government policy".

It comes after the Politico website claimed the prime minister was told his contingency plan could cost up to 18 billion pounds (about 24.8 billion U.S. dollars).

More than 86 percent of people aged 12 and over in Britain have had their first dose of vaccine and more than 79 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. (ANI/Xinhua)

( With inputs from ANI )