Another 21,915 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 1,011,660, according to official figures released Saturday.
The coronavirus-related deaths in Britain rose by 326 to 46,555, the data showed.
The figures came as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to announced a second national lockdown later Saturday.
The government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) has warned that COVID-19 was spreading significantly faster in Britain than its worst-case scenarios.
Dr Yvonne Doyle, the medical director at Public Health England, said Britain is “in an increasingly precarious situation”, calling for the public to abide by the rules.
“For many among this million, getting infected has meant serious illness and even death…We have all already made huge sacrifices and we are in an increasingly precarious situation as hospital admissions grow each day,” she said.
“But we can all continue to play our part in bringing this virus under control and must abide by the restrictions in place, socially distance, wear a face covering and regularly washing our hands,” Doyle added.
Jeremy Farrar, SAGE member and the director of the Wellcome Trust, said tighter restrictions are needed to bring the situation under control.
“The sooner we act, the sooner we can start to recover,” he said.
Talking about the looming national lockdown, Farrar said: “It will be a very difficult few weeks now and no one can underestimate the toll that will take on people.”
“But the consequences of sticking with the current insufficient restrictions would have been much worse,” he added.
To bring life back to normal, countries, such as Britain, China, Russia and the United States, are racing against time to develop coronavirus vaccines.
