LONDON, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- Another 30,597 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 7,312,683, according to official figures released Wednesday.
The country also recorded another 201 coronavirus-related deaths. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 134,647. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test.
The latest data came as modelling prepared for the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), a British government advisory body, showed that there is still "the potential for another large wave of hospitalizations" after the return of schools and more people going back to their workplaces.
"While the relationship between cases and hospitalizations has changed due to vaccination, increasing cases remain the earliest warning sign that hospital admissions are likely to rise," the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling Operational sub-group (Spi-M-O) said.
University modelling provided to Spi-M-O showed that the hospital admissions in the next few months could skyrocket to more than 7000 per day.
The British government on Tuesday released a COVID-19 Autumn and Winter Plan, outlining the possible measures and restrictions the country may see towards the end of this year.
According to the plan unveiled by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, there is "significant uncertainty" about what will happen later this year and there is a "plausible" risk of cases rising to an extent that would place the National Health Service (NHS) under "unsustainable pressure".
The government's Plan A consists of a booster jabs campaign which will begin next week, and guidance that people meet outdoors or open windows if inside. "Plan B" could include vaccine passports, compulsory masks and working from home guidance.
Johnson said "Plan B" would aim to prevent the NHS being overwhelmed.
The total number of people in hospital with coronavirus in the country currently stands at 8,340. It has been over 8,000 for eight of the past nine days.
More than 89 percent of people aged 16 and over in Britain have had their first dose of vaccine and more than 81 percent have received both doses, the latest figures showed.
To bring life back to normal, countries such as Britain, China, Germany, Russia and the United States have been racing against time to roll out coronavirus vaccines. Enditem
