The United Kingdom on Wednesday recorded 1,564 deaths from COVID-19, the highest ever daily toll. This brings the total casualty figure from COVID complications in the UK to 84,767.
According to a BBC report, the fresh deaths were recorded within 28 days after the victims tested positive for the virus.
According to the government’s coronavirus dashboard, 47,525 new COVID cases have been recorded and the country currently has a total of 3,211,576 confirmed cases and 1,406,967 recoveries.
Prime minister Boris Johnson has expressed concerns about a new variant of the virus identified in Brazil.
“We are concerned about the new Brazilian variant,” Johnson told MPs, adding “We already have tough measures… to protect this country from new infections coming in from abroad. We are taking steps to do that in respect of the Brazilian variant.
“There are lots of questions we still have about that variant. We don’t know, for instance, any more than we know whether the South African variant is vaccine resistant.”
Meanwhile, the UK has begun a large-scale trial of a new treatment that could prevent severe illness by 80 percent.
The treatment involves inhaling a protein called interferon beta or SNG001 which the body produces when it gets a viral infection.
UK, the worst-hit in Europe, hopes that the treatment will help stimulate the immune system, priming cells to be ready to fight off viruses.
It has approved the administration of Pfizer and Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines.