UK records another 6,573 coronavirus cases, 242 deaths - China.org.cn

Another 6,573 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 4,201,358, according to official figures released Thursday.
The country also reported another 242 coronavirus-related deaths. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 124,025. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test.

The latest figures were revealed as nearly 21 million people in Britain have been given the first jab of the coronavirus vaccine.

Earlier on Thursday, Downing Street urged the public to continue to abide by the lockdown restrictions after a survey showed more than four in 10 over-80s who received a vaccine appear to have since broken the rules by meeting up with someone indoors.

"It's important that people continue to follow the guidelines that are in place," a Downing Street spokesman said.

The research by the British Office for National Statistics (ONS) found 43 percent of over-80s said they had met up indoors with someone outside their household, support or care bubble after getting their first jab.

England is currently under the third national lockdown since outbreak of the pandemic in the country. Similar restriction measures are also in place in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

On Feb. 22, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced his long-anticipated "roadmap" exiting the lockdown. Schools in England will reopen from Monday next week as first part of the four-step plan, which Johnson said was designed to be "cautious but irreversible".

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.