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

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."