A woman walks past a public information sign in Bolton, Britain, on May 21, 2021. Another 2,829 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 4,457,923, according to official figures released Friday. (Photo by Jon Super/Xinhua)
LONDON, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Another 2,829 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 4,457,923, according to official figures released Friday.
The country also reported another nine coronavirus-related deaths. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 127,710. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test.
England's coronavirus reproduction number, known as the R number, is estimated at between 0.9 and 1.1, the latest figures showed.
Last week it was estimated at between 0.8 and 1.1, according to the government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE).
The latest figures mean that on average every 10 people infected with COVID-19 will go on to infect between nine and 11 others. If the R number is above one, it means the number of cases will increase exponentially.
Meanwhile, Public Health England (PHE) said it is investigating another new variant after 49 cases were identified, mostly in Yorkshire and the Humber region.
So far, there is no evidence that it causes more severe disease or renders the vaccines less effective, it said.
Downing Street said the situation will continue to be monitored.
The latest development came as a total of 3,424 cases of the India-related variant have been recorded in Britain, according to the figures from the PHE published Thursday.
More than 37.5 million people, or above 70 percent of adults in Britain, have been given the first jab of the coronavirus vaccine, according to the latest official figures.
From Monday, pubs, bars and restaurants in England were permitted to open indoors, while indoor entertainment resumed, including cinemas, museums and children's play areas.
People were also allowed to travel abroad to a number of green-list countries without having to quarantine upon return as the ban on foreign travel has also been lifted.
The British government's roadmap is expected to see all legal limits on social contact to be removed on June 21.
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. Enditem
