LONDON
The UK death toll from the novel coronavirus crossed a gloomy landmark on Tuesday, leaving it as the fifth country in the world to top 100,000.
With a total of 100,162 deaths, the UK follows the US, Brazil, India and Mexico.
Taken together, the five countries saw half the global death tax of 2.1 million.
UK authorities reported 1,631 new deaths today, one of the highest one-day death tolls in the country.
Offering his condolences to all those who lost someone with the pandemic, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said it was “difficult to count the grief” behind the passing of the UK death toll. over 100,000.
In a daily Downing Street coronavirus news release, Johnson said the country will “learn the lessons and prepare” for future pandemics.
Opposition Labor leader Keir Starmer called the high number of deaths “a national tragedy and a terrible reminder of all that we lost as a nation. “
The UK death toll over the past seven days comes to 8,692, showing an upward movement of 5.1%.
However, the number of those who tested positive within a week has fallen more than 25% over the past week to 222,898, including 20,089 reported Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the number of people receiving the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine has risen to nearly 7 million, according to official figures, as four out of five 80-year-olds are get the first injection.
Chief medical officer Chris Whitty said the latest seven-day average death rate is 1,242, and the death toll will fall slowly over the next two weeks.
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