MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd January, 2021) The United Kingdom will continue to register a high number of COVID-19 related deaths in the near future, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Friday.
Earlier in the day, the prime minister said that the new variant of the coronavirus, which was first detected in the UK last month, may be associated with a higher degree of mortality.
"We think, looking at the numbers of infections we've sadly seen as a result of the new variant, that big surge that the country saw in the Christmas period and afterwards ... that the death numbers will continue to be high at least for a little while to come," Johnson said at a government press briefing.
On Friday, public health officials in the UK reported 40,261 new positive tests for the coronavirus, with 6,586 COVID-19 related deaths.
The total number of coronavirus cases in the UK has reached 3,583,907, with 95,829 COVID-19 related deaths having been registered.
