The United Kingdom on Wednesday logged a new daily record of the number of people who have died within 28 days of testing positive for COVID-19 at 1,820, according to Public Health England. Another 38,905 new cases were also reported across the UK on Wednesday, the public health authority said. The country also reported a record number of deaths on Tuesday, with 1,610 people dying within 28 days of a positive test. "The NHS is under significant pressure in all parts of the country," health secretary Matt Hancock said on Monday, explaining that hospitalizations were at the highest level at any time during the pandemic. A person is admitted to hospital in the UK every 30 seconds, UK officials have said. The country has approved three vaccines for use including those from Pfizer, Moderna and Oxford University. A total of 4,609,740 people have now received the first dose of one of the country's approved vaccines, Public Health England added. The government has said it hopes to have vulnerable people and healthcare workers vaccinated by mid-February. UK officials have called vaccinations the "way out" and said that they have vaccinated half of the people over the age of 80. The country is currently grappling with a surge in infections of the virus since a new variant was discovered in England just before Christmas. — Euronews
