The UK has recorded 38 more coronavirus deaths as surge testing for the South African variant continues in London.
This brings the UK’s official death toll to 127,161. Separate figures published by the UK’s statistics agencies show there have now been 151,000 deaths registered in the UK where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate.
Government figures also revealed a further 2,491 new Covid cases on Wednesday, up slightly from 2,472 on Tuesday.
A total of 32.37 million people have now received a first dose of a vaccine against coronavirus and 8.17 million people have received a second dose.
It comes as thousands of residents have queued to take coronavirus tests at additional facilities set up after new cases of the South African variant were found in boroughs across London.
In south London Wandsworth Council said the testing operation is a “mammoth task” but urged all adults in the area to get tested even if they do not have any symptoms, while people in Lambeth and an area of Southwark have been asked to do the same.
People living in an area of Barnet, north London, have also been asked to take a test after a case of the variant was detected.
A steady stream of people joined the lines at pop-up centres on Clapham Common and in Brockwell Park, near Brixton, in Lambeth, on Wednesday morning.
