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Coronavirus pandemic

UK passes 200,000 coronavirus cases and 30,000 deaths

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson last week announced that the country had passed the peak of the epidemic

LONDON, May 6. /TASS/. The number of novel coronavirus infections in the United Kingdom has topped the symbolic 200,000 mark, while more than 30,000 people have died in the country, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Robert Jenrick told the daily coronavirus briefing on Wednesday.

"201,101 people have tested positive, that is an increase of 6,111 cases since yesterday. Sadly, of those hospitalized with the virus 30,076 have now died, that is an increase of 649 fatalities since yesterday," he said.

Therefore, the number of daily recorded coronavirus-related deaths in the country has soared again after dropping to the level of 288-315 fatalities on Sunday and Monday. Yesterday’s figures pointed to almost 700 deaths, propelling the country to second place in coronavirus fatalities ahead of Italy.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson last week announced that the country had passed the peak of the epidemic, saying that the second phase of fighting the coronavirus outbreak is ahead, which means that some lockdown measures imposed on March 23 will be lifted.

On Wednesday, Johnson shared hope that the process can begin on May 11. Moreover, he pledged the strategy of gradually exiting the lockdown on May 10.

In late December 2019, Chinese officials notified the World Health Organization (WHO) about the outbreak of a previously unknown pneumonia in the city of Wuhan, in central China. Since then, cases of the novel coronavirus - named COVID-19 by the WHO - have been reported in every corner of the globe.

On March 11, 2020, the WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. According to the latest statistics, over 3,700,000 people have been infected worldwide and more than 258,000 deaths have been reported. In addition, so far, over 1,200,000 individuals have recovered from the illness across the globe.

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