Another 5,379 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 4,307,304, according to official figures released Tuesday.
The country also reported another 112 coronavirus-related deaths. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 126,284. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test.
More than 28.3 million people in Britain have been given the first jab of the coronavirus vaccine, according to the latest official figures.
Britain on Tuesday marked one year since British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the first coronavirus lockdown. A national minute's silence was held at midday as part of a day of reflection. Britons are also encouraged to stand on their doorsteps at 20:00 GMT with phones, candles and torches to remember the past year.
Earlier Tuesday, Chris Whitty, England's chief medical officer warned that there will "definitely" be another surge in infections at some point as the country struggles to recover from the pandemic.
Speaking at the Public Health Conference 2021, Whitty said: "There are going to be lots of bumps and twists on the road from here on in...There will definitely be another surge at some point whether it's before winter or next winter, we don't know."
"Variants are going to cause problems, there will be stockouts of vaccines and no doubt there will be multiple problems at a national level but also at a local level -- school outbreaks, prison outbreaks, all those things that people are dealing with on a day-to-day basis."
However, "The path from here on in does look better than the last year," he said.
On Feb. 22, Johnson announced his "roadmap" exiting the lockdown, the third of its kind since the start of the pandemic. 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.
Other parts of Britain, including Wales and Norther Ireland, have also unveiled plans to ease the restrictions.
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.
