One in 50 Britons Now Infected with Covid

More than 1 million people in England now have coronavirus, the British government said, as medics race to vaccinate the most vulnerable against the rapidly spreading disease.

Peaking case rates from the new virus strain mean one person in every 50 in England now has Covid-19, while in London one in 30 is infected, official survey results showed.

 British Prime Minister Boris Johnson unveiled the statistics as he vowed to speed up the government's vaccination program, in order eventually to lift the latest lockdown.   The figure of one in 50 people infected is an estimate based on a mass testing survey that aims to find people who have infections but no symptoms. It is significantly higher than the infection rate implied by the national totals from all positive test results, which mostly rely on people to seek tests when they show symptoms.   According to him 23% of all over-80s in England have now been given a dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, meaning some of those at the greatest risk are starting to get the protection they need.   Johnson underlined the promise to vaccinate almost 14 million people at the highest risk and carers by mid-February. 1.3 million people across the U.K. had already received the first of two shots.

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