UK's Johnson says record COVID-19 death figures are appalling

British PM Johnson holds media briefing on coronavirus pandemic in London

LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Wednesday's record deaths from COVID-19 are "appalling" and the death toll is likely to keep rising in the next few weeks because of the spread of a new, more infectious variant of the virus.

Britain reported a record daily number of deaths with 1,820 people dying within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test.

"These figures are appalling," Johnson told Sky News. "It is true that it looks as though the rates of infection in the country overall may now be peaking or flattening, but they are not flattening very fast and it is clear that we must keep a grip on this."

(Reporting by Andrew MacAskill; Editing by William Schomberg)

Latest Stories

  • Republicans built up QAnon backer Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, but now are they afraid of what they created?

    On the eve of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, freshman Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, the combative Georgia Republican known for her association with QAnon, was back on Twitter after a 12-hour suspension, and back to making waves. 

  • President Biden: 'Democracy has prevailed'

    Joe Biden took the oath of office on Wednesday, but in his first address to the nation as the 46th president of the United States, he acknowledged how tumultuous the path to the historic day has been. "The people — the will of the people — has been heard, and the will of the people has been heeded," he said. "We have learned again that democracy is precious, democracy is fragile, and at this hour my friends, democracy has prevailed."> President Joe Biden: “This is America’s day … today we celebrate the triumph not of a candidate, but of a cause — the cause of democracy.” https://t.co/2pnC6CISOp InaugurationDay pic.twitter.com/vnw07P4gEo> > — ABC News (@ABC) January 20, 2021Biden added that it is on "we the people" to strive for a more perfect union. "This is a great nation," he went on. "We are good people. Over the centuries through storm and strife, through peace and war, we've come so far. But we still have far to go.""We'll press forward," Biden said, "with speed and urgency. We have much to do in this winter of peril and significant possibilities."More stories from theweek.com Bernie Sanders steals the inauguration with his grumpy chic outfit Biden's inaugural poet wants to run for president in 2036 Biden urges unity in inaugural speech: 'Politics doesn't have to be a raging fire destroying everything in its path'

  • Senate's top Democrat, Republican seek path to guide 50-50 chamber

    Facing a 50-50 partisan split in the U.S. Senate, the chamber's top Democrat and Republican discussed adopting a power-sharing deal similar to one struck two decades ago in similar circumstances, a Democratic spokesman said on Tuesday. Democrat Chuck Schumer, set to become majority leader on Wednesday thanks to incoming Vice President Kamala Harris' tie-breaking vote, told the chamber's top Republican, Mitch McConnell, that he favored adopting a deal along the lines of the 2001 arrangement "without extraneous changes from either side," a Schumer spokesman said.

  • Republicans in disarray: Where does the GOP go from here?

    The Republican Party enters the Biden era reeling from a series of tough election losses and divided over how to move forward without Donald Trump.

  • Houston police veteran lied about entering Capitol, feds say

    Tam Dinh Pham of the Houston police department was part of the deadly mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. A veteran Houston police officer is in trouble after attending the U.S. Capitol riots in Washington, D.C., then lying about it. Officer Tam Dinh Pham joined the deadly mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

  • Biden’s homeland security nominee pledges to tackle domestic extremism and prevent another attack on the Capitol

    Less than two weeks after a violent mob of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol, Alejandro Mayorkas, President-elect Joe Biden’s nominee for Homeland Security Secretary, assured senators that, if confirmed, he will “tackle the threat of domestic extremism” and prevent future attacks.

  • Melania Trump reportedly didn't write her own thank-you notes for the White House staff

    Melania Trump was reportedly "emotionally checked out" long before boarding Air Force One to leave D.C. on Wednesday, going as far as to outsource writing her "thank you" notes to the White House residence staff, The New York Times and CNN report.Traditionally, the first family of the United States will write short cards to their household staff, thanking them for taking care of them over the past four to eight years. The cards tend to be intimate and "much of the correspondence includes personal anecdotes and the letters become 'cherished keepsakes' for the residence staff," such as the butlers, cooks, and housekeepers, who do not tend to turn-over between administrations, CNN writes.Melania Trump, however, reportedly did not personally write the cards for the approximately 80 staff members charged with caring for her, her husband, and her teenage son, Barron, while they lived in the White House. Instead, she is said to have instructed a "lower-level East Wing staffer" to write the type-written notes "in her voice," and then signed her name."I think she was a reluctant first lady and she did it for her husband," society publicist R. Couri Hay, who knows Trump from New York, told The New York Times. He added that after she departs Washington, "I think that you will find that she will be even less visible, and less available."More stories from theweek.com Bernie Sanders steals the inauguration with his grumpy chic outfit Biden's inaugural poet wants to run for president in 2036 President Biden: 'Democracy has prevailed'

  • U.S. blacklists oil traders, tankers for undermining Venezuela sanctions

    The United States on Tuesday sanctioned a network of oil trading firms, individuals and vessels that have helped Venezuelan state-run oil company PDVSA sell crude mainly to Asia despite Washington's sanctions on the South American nation. The measure targets a network that the U.S. Treasury Department says helped the administration of President Nicolas Maduro, whose 2018 re-election Washington called a sham, broker the sale of hundreds of millions of dollars in Venezuelan oil.

  • UK: 'Genocide' clause to China trade deals narrowly defeated

    British Prime Minister Boris Johnson narrowly avoided a defeat in Parliament on Tuesday after lawmakers voted against a controversial proposal seeking to bar trade deals with any country deemed by the U.K. High Court to be committing genocide. The amendment to the government’s post-Brexit trade bill was largely designed to force international action in addressing China’s alleged human rights abuses against the Uighur minority in the far western Xinjiang region.

  • Georgia lawyer said he kicked in Pelosi's door, she could've been 'torn into little pieces'

    Suspect William McCall Calhoun Jr. faces a host of charges stemming from the Jan. 6 pro-Trump riot at the U.S. Capitol Building.

  • CIA's Gina Haspel, who quietly resisted some Trump moves, outlasted many in administration

    CIA Director Gina Haspel is marking the end of a tenure that was often publicly quiet, but often included behind-the-scenes resistance to some of President Trump’s controversial moves.

  • Biden pick for DHS chief says he would not abolish ICE and CBP

    Alejandro Mayorkas, President-elect Joe Biden’s pick to head the Department of Homeland Security, said during his Senate confirmation hearing that he would execute Biden’s plan to stop building the wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Mayorkas also said that CBP and ICE play “critical roles” in the federal government and that he wouldn’t abolish them.

  • China worries about lagging consumption as broader economy shakes off COVID

    China will be looking to tweak its economic policies to get consumers to spend more, policy advisers in Beijing said after retail sales emerged as a weak spot in better-than-expected GDP data, underlining the need for reform. They said that while supporting employment was key in the short run, reforms to help fatten ordinary people's wallets were needed to boost domestic spending - a priority for President Xi Jinping's "dual circulation" strategy to cut China's reliance on overseas markets. "We need to discuss ways to boost incomes," said Yao Jingyuan, an adviser to the Chinese cabinet.

  • Iran’s telecom minister appears before prosecutor, released

    Iran's judiciary released the country's telecom minister on bail Wednesday after he was summoned for prosecution by Iran's general prosecutor, state TV reported. The state media outlet quoted Jamal Hadian, a spokesman for the telecommunications ministry, as saying Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi appeared before a prosecutor Wednesday, was released and had already returned to his office. The office of the general prosecutor had summoned Jahromi for prosecution over his refusal to block Instagram and other foreign social media messaging systems, according to earlier reports.

  • The Coolest New Automotive Technology at CES 2021

    Mercedes-Benz’s Hyperscreen, General Motors’ Bright Drop, and Jeep’s Electric Wrangler were among the unveils that turned headsOriginally Appeared on Architectural Digest

  • 12-year-old boy swept to sea by wave in northern California

    The boy was pulled into the water Monday, while the National Weather Service warned that waves could swell to 25 feet.

  • Biden asks Trump's surgeon general to step down before he's even sworn in

    President-elect Joe Biden is revamping outgoing President Trump's coronavirus approach before he even takes office.On Wednesday morning, Biden asked Surgeon General Jerome Adams, whom Trump nominated for a four-year term back in 2017, to step down from his post. Biden has already announced his intention to nominate former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy to the post, but will install an acting surgeon general in the meantime, The Washington Post reports.The nation's top doctor is appointed for four-year terms; Adams took office in Sept. 2017, allowing him to stay on through this September. But amid the Trump administration's bungling of the COVID-19 crisis, it seems Biden wants a fresh start. He'll even bypass Deputy Surgeon General Erica Schwartz, a career civil servant, in naming an acting top doctor to take Adams' spot, the Post reports.Adams acknowledged his forced resignation in a statement, which focused more on smoking cessation and other health crises than on COVID-19. > I've been asked by the Biden team to step down as Surgeon General. Its been the honor of my life to serve this Nation, and I will do all I can to ensure everyone has an equal opportunity to achieve and maintain health. See my full statement at: https://t.co/pCkbpealt8> > -- U.S. Surgeon General (@Surgeon_General) January 20, 2021More stories from theweek.com Bernie Sanders steals the inauguration with his grumpy chic outfit Biden's inaugural poet wants to run for president in 2036 President Biden: 'Democracy has prevailed'

  • Palestinians expect first COVID vaccine by weekend

    Palestinians expect to receive a first batch of COVID-19 vaccine by the weekend, officials said on Tuesday - at a time when more than a quarter of their Israeli neighbours have already been inoculated. The Palestinian Authority (PA) has ordered Russia's Sputnik V vaccine and hopes to administer it to 50,000 residents by March, after last week granting the drug emergency approval. The PA governs in the Israeli-occupied West Bank in coordination with Israel, whose vaccination campaign has been the world's fastest.

  • Thai court gives record 43-year sentence for insulting king

    A court in Thailand on Tuesday sentenced a former civil servant to a record prison term of 43 years and six months for breaching the country's strict law on insulting or defaming the monarchy, lawyers said. The Bangkok Criminal Court found the woman guilty on 29 counts of violating the country’s lese majeste law for posting audio clips to Facebook and YouTube with comments deemed critical of the monarchy, the group Thai Lawyers for Human Rights said. “Today’s court verdict is shocking and sends a spine-chilling signal that not only criticisms of the monarchy won’t be tolerated, but they will also be severely punished,” said Sunai Phasuk, a senior researcher for the group Human Rights Watch.

  • Thousands of pro-Trump crowds have gathered since he took office. No state has had more than California

    Despite its reputation as a leader of resistance, California saw more pro-Trump crowds than any other state during the president's term in office.