UK PM vows to take further steps amid grave concerns over rising COVID-19 cases

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday vowed to take further measures to contain the rising coronavirus infection rates if the situation continue to worsen in the country, reported Xinhua.

"We will not hesitate to take further measures" if pandemic worsens, Johnson told a press conference at 10 Downing Street, adding that his country is at a "critical moment".

The huge number of daily cases and "tragic increase" in deaths "show why our plan is so essential", he said.

However, he pointed out that the new measures "will take time to feed through".

Meanwhile, the prime minister said that he wanted to avoid another national lockdown, adding "What we are not doing at the moment is going back to the situation we were in in March".

"And, I really don't want to do this. I don't want to go back to a national lockdown where the overall guidance is stay at home, that is not what we are saying," he said.

"We want to keep the economy moving. We want to keep young people, pupils in education," he said. "But the only way we can do that is if we all follow the guidance and depress the virus."

Another 7,108 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 453,264, according to official figures released Wednesday.

The coronavirus-related deaths rose by 71 to 42,143, according to the latest data.

The latest figures came one day after Britain recorded 7,143 new COVID-19 cases, the highest daily increase ever since the pandemic broke out in Britain.

Johnson called for "collective forbearance, common sense and willingness to make sacrifices".

The prime minister said in many ways Britain is better placed than it was in the spring.

About 14 million people have already downloaded the official trace and trace app, Johnson said, adding that 32 billion items of personal protective equipment (PPE) have been ordered.

A four-month stockpile will be in place and by December, British suppliers will provide 70 percent of it, compared to just one percent before the pandemic, Johnson noted.

The latest figures showed that the vast majority of new cases and deaths are still in England -- 5,656 and 62, with Northern Ireland recording 424 and 1, and Wales 388 and 1. Seven deaths and 640 new cases were reported in Scotland.

Joining Johnson for the online press conference, Chief Medical Officer for England Chris Whitty said the situation in England's North West and North East is particularly serious even though there are general increases in cases across Britain.

Whitty added that younger adults and older teenagers are seeing an increase in test positivity.

Also present at the press conference, the British government's Chief Scientific Adviser Patrick Vallance said "its very clear rates are still going up", meaning Britain does not have this under control.

He stressed that the restriction measures implemented by the government should be followed to avoid the worsening of the situation.

In the face of a sharp rise in coronavirus cases, further restrictions were announced Monday for people living in the northeast of England, including "legal restrictions on indoor mixing between households in any setting".

Local media reported that about a quarter of people in Britain now are living under different lockdown restrictions.

The latest move came as countries, such as Britain, China, Russia and the United States, are racing against time to develop coronavirus vaccines.

Vallance has said that it is possible that some vaccine could be available in small amounts later this year, but it is more likely that a vaccine will be available early next year, although that is not guaranteed.