UK coronavirus cases top 12 million

LONDON, Dec. 27 (Xinhua) -- Britain has reported another 98,515 coronavirus cases in the latest 24-hour period, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 12,209,991, according to official figures released Monday.

The country also reported a further 143 coronavirus-related deaths. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 148,003, with 8,240 COVID-19 patients still in hospital.

According to the figures, England had its highest ever daily total of COVID cases on Christmas Day. A total of 113,628 cases were recorded on Dec. 25, two days after hitting the previous record of 107,055 cases.

Figures are not available from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland due to the holiday period. As experts have noted, data around Christmas may not give a true picture of the situation, not least as people may be less likely to have a COVID test.

"Data will be unreliable over the festive period as testing and hospital admission patterns change. This will make it difficult to interpret any apparent trends over the next few days," documents released on Thursday by the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) warned.

Meanwhile, British Health Secretary Sajid Javid has confirmed that the government will not be imposing any new coronavirus restrictions by the end of this year.

Speaking to broadcasters, Javid said ministers look at the data "on a daily basis" but this has not changed over the Christmas period.

He urged people to "remain cautious" ahead of the new year's celebrations.

More than 89 percent of people aged 12 and over in Britain have had their first dose of vaccine and around 82 percent have received both doses, according to the latest figures. More than 56 percent have received booster jabs, or the third dose of a coronavirus vaccine.

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.