United Kingdom continues to suffer as coronavirus pandemic wreaks havoc across the region with death toll rising to 12,868 on Wednesday, a daily increase of 761.?
The British death toll is the fifth highest globally and there are growing fears that the country risks becoming the worst-hit in Europe. Latest official figures also reveal that 98,476 people have tested positive for the virus, of 3,13,769 who have been tested across the country.??
British government?has come under mounting criticism for failing to act early in?response to the outbreak, with complaints of insufficient testing and protective kit for medics and questions about whether PM Boris Johnson, before he fell ill with Covid-19, was too slow to impose a lockdown.
UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the government will introduce new procedures to "limit the risk of infection" and allow people to say goodbye to loved ones "wherever possible" during the daily Downing Street briefing.
However, he stressed that the wider social distancing measures in place to curtail the spread of the deadly virus will remain in place for some time to come.
"This shared sacrifice is starting to work. But we will not lift these measures until it is safe to do so," said Hancock.
"It is too early to make changes and the message to the public watching is they can play their part by staying at home, which protects the NHS [National Health Service] and saves lives," he said.
India sends first consignment of paracetamol to UK
On Wednesday, British government has hailed India-UK trade ties as the first consignment of 2,800,000 packets of paracetamol from India is set to be distributed across the country's supermarkets and retailers to stem the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.??
The shipment followed India's decision to lift export restrictions on essential drugs, but further discussions were required for the UK's urgent need for paracetamol.??
The shipment arrived as a series of charter flights laid on by the UK government to ferry thousands of British residents stranded in India's coronavirus lockdown began landing in the UK since earlier this month.