UK records lowest daily coronavirus death toll since September

Britain reported 17 coronavirus-related deaths, the lowest daily death toll since late September last year.

The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 126,172. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test, Xinhua news agency reported.

Another 5,343 people in Britain have tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 4,301,925, according to official figures released Monday.

Nearly 28 million people in Britain have been given the first jab of a coronavirus vaccine, the data showed.

Earlier Monday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that Britain was "on course" to vaccinate the top nine priority groups, including all over-50s, by April 15, despite vaccine supply shortage next month.

During a visit to Preston in northern England on Monday, Johnson also warned that a recent surge in Covid cases across Europe would impact Britain.

"I think one thing worth stressing is that on the continent right now, you can see sadly there is a third wave under way," he told Sky News.

"And people in this country should be under no illusions that previous experience has taught us that when a wave hits our friends, I`m afraid it washes up on our shores as well," he said.

"I suspect we will feel those effects in due course, that`s why we`re getting on with our vaccination program as fast as we can," he said.

National Health Service (NHS) England has warned that Britain is going to face a "significant reduction" in vaccine supplies from March 29 onwards.

British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said a need to retest 1.7 million vaccine doses as well as delays to doses arriving from India are the reasons why Britain is facing a "tighter" supply in Covid jabs next month. But the British government insisted that the country is on course to offer all adults a dose by the end of July.

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.