London, March 15 Another 4,618 people in Britain have tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 4,258,438, according to official figures released on Sunday.
The country also reported another 52 coronavirus-related deaths. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 125,516. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test, the Xinhua news agency reported.
More than 24.1 million people in Britain have been given the first jab of the coronavirus vaccine, according to the latest official figures.
The data were revealed as experts raised concerns over the difference between vaccination rates in richer and poorer areas in England, where black, Asian and other minority ethnic populations are often the majority.
A research by The Guardian newspaper has found the vaccine gap was most pronounced in the borough of Southwark, south London.
In the richest areas in the borough, 95 percent of those aged 60 or older had been vaccinated by March 7, but the number fell to only 70 per cent of people in the poorest areas of Southwark, according to the London-based newspaper.
The vaccine rollout is a vital part of Britain's plan to recover from the pandemic.
On February 22, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced his long-anticipated "roadmap" exiting the lockdown. The March 8 reopening of schools was the first part of the four-step plan which is expected to see all legal restrictions in England being removed by mid-June.
Other parts of Britain, including Wales and Scotland, have also unveiled plans to ease the restrictions.
Experts have warned Britain is "still not out of the woods" amid concerns over new variants and the risks of the public breaching restriction rules.
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.
( With inputs from IANS )
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