UK reports another 29,612 coronavirus cases

Britain has reported another 29,612 coronavirus cases in the latest 24-hour period, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 6,146,800, according to official figures released Wednesday, reported Xinhua.

The country also recorded another 104 coronavirus-related deaths. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 130,607. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test.

A recent study looking at prevalence of COVID-19 infection in schools in England showed that lower levels of current infection in pupils and secondary school staff than in the autumn term 2020.

Round six of the Schools Infection Survey (SIS), a study jointly led by Public Health England (PHE), the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and the Office for National Statistics (ONS), was carried out in June this year across 141 primary and secondary schools within selected local authority areas in England.

The percentage of primary school pupils in school on the day of testing that tested positive was 0.27 percent, showing very little change from Round five (May 2021), according to the latest figures.

In secondary schools, 0.42 percent of students tested positive, representing an increase from Round five but a significantly lower level than the autumn term 2020 (Round one and Round two).

The study also found that antibody seroconversion rates (the incidence of SARS-CoV-2 antibody test results changing from negative to positive following natural infection) among primary and secondary school staff were at the lowest level recorded by the study for the academic year.

"Latest results show that infection and antibody positivity rates of children in school did not exceed those of the community. This is reassuring and confirms that schools are not hubs of infection," said Dr Shamez Ladhani, Consultant Paediatrician at PHE and study lead.

England lifted almost all its remaining COVID-19 restrictions on July 19. Nearly 90 percent of the adults in Britain have had their first dose of vaccine and more than three quarters of adults have received both doses, the latest figures showed.

All 16 and 17-year-olds in Britain will start being offered a first dose of the COVID jab soon, after a recommendation from vaccine experts.

To bring life back to normal, countries such as Britain, China, Russia, the United States as well as the European Union have been racing against time to roll out coronavirus vaccines.