06 Jan

The number of daily coronavirus infections in Britain surpassed 60,000 for the first time on Tuesday. Official data confirmed 60,916 new cases.

The country also reported 830 deaths on the day, bringing total fatalities from the coronavirus to over 76,000.

A new lockdown that includes tough travel restrictions took effect across England on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson sought public understanding of the strict measures. He said, "I believe that when everybody looks at the position, people understand overwhelmingly that we have no choice."

Johnson noted that more than 1.3 million people have been vaccinated across the country with two coronavirus vaccines -- one developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, and the other by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford.

The prime minister suggested that more people can be vaccinated in coming months.

The British government plans to vaccinate about 13 million people in top priority groups, such as elderly residents in care homes and people aged 70 or over, by mid-February.

Johnson said that if the country succeeds in vaccinating everyone in those groups, it will be able to eventually lift many of the restrictions people have endured for so long.

NHK