UK's reported COVID-19 cases rise, deaths down

FILE PHOTO: People queue to receive the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine outside a closed down Debenhams store that is being used as a vaccination centre in Folkestone, Kent, Britain January 28, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Couldridge

Britain recorded a rise in the number of new daily COVID-19 cases on Thursday, although there was a fall in the reported death toll.

There were 13,494 people who tested positive for the virus in the latest daily total, versus 13,013 on Wednesday. The number of new deaths within 28 days of a positive COVID-19 test fell to 678 from 1,001 on Wednesday.

The government also said 13,509,108 people had received a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine up to Wednesday.

(Reporting by James Davey)