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Britain records 29 520 new COVID-19 infections, 93 deaths

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Britain recorded 29 520 new COVID-19 infections on Saturday and 93 deaths within 28 days of a positive test for the virus, according to government data.

That compares with 32 700 new cases and 100 deaths on Friday.

The data also showed that 47.3 million people have had a first dose of a vaccine and 40.4 million have had two.

Earlier it was reported Britain it was cutting the cost of COVID-19 tests for travel from the National Health Service (NHS) and was reviewing the list of private providers to ensure pricing is transparent, warning it would clamp down on misleading pricing.

Testing is free for people with symptoms of COVID-19 but all tests used for travel have to be purchased.

The travel industry, which has been hammered by the pandemic, has long complained that the costs of tests are too high.

The United Kingdom operates a “traffic light” system for international travel, with low-risk countries rated green for quarantine-free travel, medium risk countries rated amber, and red countries requiring arrivals to spend 10 days in isolation in a hotel.

People arriving from green and amber-list destinations must take at least one such test to avoid fines of up to 2 000 pounds (R40 000).

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