Britain Surpasses 100K COVID-19 Deaths

Britain’s health department reported Tuesday the nation’s death toll from COVID-19 has surpassed 100,000 people.

In a televised news briefing from his office, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said, "It's hard to compute the sorrow contained in that grim statistic, the years of life lost, the family gatherings not attended, and for so many relatives the missed chance, even to say goodbye,"

The health department said more than 100,000 Britons have died within 28 days of a positive COVID-19 test. The government figures show Britain has the fifth highest death toll globally and reported a further 1,631 deaths and 20,089 cases on Tuesday.

Britain is the fifth country in the world to record 100,000 virus-related deaths, after the United States, Brazil, India and Mexico, and is by far the smallest in terms of population.

The U.S. has recorded more than 400,000 COVID-19 deaths, the world’s highest total, but its population of about 330 million is about five times Britain’s. Worldwide, more than 2.1 million people have died from COVID-19.

Meanwhile, Britain is speeding up its vaccine distribution with more than 6.8 million people receiving their first dose of vaccine and more than 472,000 receiving both doses as of Monday.