The COVID-19 death toll in Britain has surpassed 20,000, according to the most recent information from the Health Ministry.

Although experts believe that the worst of this infection wave has passed, the death rate could still rise for a while, as the great number of people already infected either convalesce or die.

The new data, released via Twitter on Saturday, showed that 813 people had died in the 24-hour period up to 5 pm (1600 GMT) on Friday, for a total of 20,319 dead.

In that same time period, 4,913 people tested positive for the coronavirus, which can lead to COVID-19, for a total of 148,377 infected.

However, the deaths listed only include those who died in hospital, meaning the true number is likely higher.

Nonetheless, despite the rising numbers, there are growing calls in Britain for a lifting of the restrictions put in place to stop the spread of the disease.

Those include such things as school closures, shutting down non-essential businesses and having people stay at home when possible.

There is also media speculation that Prime Minister Boris Johnson could return to work in the coming week

The prime minister has been sick most of the month with his own bout of COVID-19 – an infection that landed him in the hospital for intensive care.

Johnson’s government has come in for criticism for what some say was a delayed and ambivalent response to the spread of the disease, which has spread worldwide since first being reported in China late last year. (dpa/NAN)

IAA