UK records another 4,654 coronavirus cases, 23 deaths

LONDON, March 29 (Xinhua) -- Another 4,654 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 4,337,696, according to official figures released Monday.

The country also reported another 23 coronavirus-related deaths. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 126,615. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test.

More than 30.4 million people have been given the first jab of the coronavirus vaccine, according to the latest official figures.

The latest figures came as two households or groups of up to six are now allowed to meet outside, including in private gardens, and outdoor team sports are reopening from Monday.

As a further step of the British government's "roadmap" exiting the lockdown, the "stay at home" slogan was officially scrapped at midnight and replaced with "stay local".

Under the new measures, people should still work from home if possible and minimize their journeys.

From April 12, non-essential retail, as well as restaurants and pubs -- if serving people outdoors -- will be allowed to reopen in England.

On Feb. 22, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced his "roadmap" exiting the lockdown, the third of its kind since the start of the pandemic in the country. The March 8 reopening of schools was first part of the four-step plan which is expected to see all legal restrictions in England being removed by mid-June.

Stephen Powis, national medical director of National Health Service (NHS) England, warned that Britons should not "squander the gains" made against coronavirus in recent months.

Coronavirus could still "wreak more havoc and ill-health on a significant scale", he wrote in the Sunday Telegraph, citing concerns over variants.

The NHS England has warned that Britain is going to face a "significant reduction" in vaccine supplies from Monday onwards. But the government insisted the country is "on course" to meet its target of offering a first dose to the top nine priority groups, including the over-50s, by April 15 and all adults by the end of July.

To bring life back to normal, countries such as Britain, China, Russia, the United States as well as the European Union have been racing against time to roll out coronavirus vaccines.