国际英语新闻:UK records another 20,572 coronavirus cases with 156 deaths

LONDON, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- Another 20,572 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 1,192,013, according to official figures released Sunday.

The coronavirus-related deaths in Britain rose by 156 to 49,044, the data showed.

The figures came as NHS (National Health Service) England has decided to temporarily suspend one-to-one nursing in the ICU, allowing nurses to look after two critically ill COVID-19 patients at the same time amid grave concerns of staff shortage.

The intensive care units are being hit by staff being off sick or isolating as a result of coronavirus resurgence, The Guardian reported Sunday on its website.

The number of people who are critically ill in hospital with coronavirus has soared to 11,514, of whom 986 are on a ventilator, said the report.

Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer for England, has warned last week that the coronavirus resurgence could overwhelm the NHS if no action was taken.

Britain's coronavirus reproduction number, also known as the R number, currently stands between 1.1 and 1.3, the same as last week's figure, according to the government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE).

If the R number is above one, it means the number of cases will increase exponentially.

England on Thursday entered into a month-long national lockdown, the second of its kind since the coronavirus outbreak in Britain, in a bid to quell the resurgence of coronavirus.

To bring life back to normal, countries, such as Britain, China, Russia and the United States, are racing against time to develop coronavirus vaccines.