UK reports 24,962 new Covid-19 cases, 168 deaths

London, Nov 16 (IANS) Another 24,962 people in Britain have tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 1,369,318, according to official figures released on Sunday.

The coronavirus-related deaths in Britain rose by 168 to 51,934, the data showed.

Britain is the first European nation to record more than 50,000 coronavirus deaths. It is the fifth country in the world to hit the tragic milestone, following the United States, Brazil, India and Mexico, the Xinhua news agency reported.

A British government scientific adviser has warned that the next fortnight will be "absolutely crucial" to ensure an end to England's lockdown on December 2 as planned.

Professor Susan Michie, who is on the government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), told media on Saturday that the next two weeks will be "very challenging, partly because of the weather (and) partly because, I think, the promise of a vaccine may be making people feel complacent".

England is currently under a month-long national lockdown until December 2, the second of its kind since the coronavirus outbreak in Britain, in a bid to quell the resurgence of coronavirus.

To bring life back to normal, countries such as Britain, China, Germany, Russia and the United States are racing against time to develop coronavirus vaccines.