United Kingdom crosses grim COVID-19 death toll of 100,000
The United Kingdom on Tuesday hit another grim COVID-19 milestone as the country's death toll crossed 100,000 since the peak of the pandemic last year, with another 1,631 daily deaths. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said it's hard to compute the sorrow as he unveiled the latest figures at a briefing from 10 Downing Street, London. The total number of fatalities has reached 100,162.
'It's an appalling and tragic loss of life'
"It's hard to compute the sorrow contained in that grim statistic, the years of life lost, the family gatherings not attended, and for many relatives not even the chance to say goodbye. It's an appalling and tragic loss of life," Johnson said.
Johnson promised the commemoration of lives lost
"All we can do now is work together with the tools that we have with the stay at home principle, plus the vaccines, to defeat the virus," he added. Johnson promised that the country will commemorate the lives lost together at a future date and also the "immense national effort" to tackle the pandemic -from health workers to scientists developing vaccines, and key workers.
Medical Officer estimates the numbers will come down relatively slow
England's Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty went through health data to note that the number of people testing positive for COVID-19 peaked at an extremely high number but it is coming down. "We need to be realistic that that number will come down relatively slowly over the next two weeks. We need to be careful and not relax restrictions too early," he said.
Office for National Statistics' data had earlier revealed 104,000 deaths
The government's latest data now coincides with the earlier Office for National Statistics (ONS) assessment of death certificate data, which had revealed that there have been nearly 104,000 deaths since last year. Notably, the UK Government's daily death toll figures rely on positive coronavirus tests in the past 28 days and are therefore slightly behind on the death certificate figures.
The virus has widened health inequalities, says Chris Hopson
Chris Hopson, Chief Executive of NHS Providers, a membership organization for the state-funded National Health Service said, "This is a dreadful milestone to have reached, and behind each death will be a story of sorrow and grief." It's concerning that the virus has widened health inequalities and affected Black, Asian, and minority ethnic communities disproportionately. "The vaccine offers hope for the future," he added.
UK Government considering further measures to fight the virus
These figures come as the UK government is considering further measures, including the possibility of imposing compulsory 10-day hospital quarantine for travelers entering Britain from regions believed to be at a high risk of spreading new variants of coronavirus. "The NHS is under intense pressure with 37,899 people in hospitals, which includes 4,076 people on ventilators," said UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock.
Vaccination program remains on track to meet government's target
He highlighted that his department-led vaccination program remains on track to meet the government-set target of covering top priority groups by mid-February, despite supply pressures. "We've had a very strong performance this past week. And I'm confident that the NHS will deliver every shot made available to it," he said, adding that 78.7 percent of people over 80s have been vaccinated as of Monday.
Government's efforts to spread awareness about vaccination
Meanwhile, the government rolled out a new Community Champions scheme through local councils, with popular celebrities including British-Indian actors Meera Syal and Sanjeev Bhaskar launching independent efforts, to help combat reluctance among minorities toward being vaccinated. Furthermore, over £23 million of funding has been allocated to 60 councils and voluntary groups to expand support to people most at risk and boost vaccine take-up.
Vaccine Deployment Minister working closely with faith and community leaders
"I have been working closely with faith and community leaders to ensure those who may be at higher risk of harm from this virus know how they can benefit from a vaccine," said Vaccine Deployment Minister Nadhim Zahawi.
