LONDON – Another 39,851 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 8,006,660, according to official figures released Wednesday.

The country also recorded another 143 coronavirus-related deaths. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 137,295. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test.

There are currently 6,836 patients in hospital with COVID-19.

The data came as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson used his speech at the Tory conference in Manchester to issue a fresh call for workers to return to the office following the pandemic.

He told the conference: “As we come out of COVID, our towns and cities are going to be buzzing with life because we know that a productive workforce needs the spur that only comes with face-to-face meetings and water cooler gossip.”

Nearly 90 percent of people aged 16 and over in Britain have had their first dose of vaccine and more than 82 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.