LONDON — Another 33,196 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 6,731,423, according to official figures released Sunday.

The daily infection count has now been above 30,000 for 12 days in a row as fears of an autumn wave grow.

The country also reported another 61 coronavirus-related deaths. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 132,437. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test.

The latest data came as the latest figures showed that infections were higher in the week leading up to Aug. 20 than in the corresponding week of the second wave.

Around one in 70 people in private households in England had COVID-19 in the week to Aug. 20, up from one in 80 in the previous week, according to the latest estimates from the Office of National Statistics (ONS).

The British government has been preparing for a booster programme expected from next month, while the World Health Organization (WHO) said such shots should be delayed to raise vaccination rates globally.

Earlier this month, the WHO called for a moratorium on COVID-19 vaccine booster shots to help ease the drastic inequity in dose distribution between wealthy and poor countries.

More than 88 percent of people aged 16 and over in Britain have had their first dose of vaccine and more than 78 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. — Agencies