London, Oct 15 (IANS): Another 45,066 people in Britain have tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 8,317,439, according to official figures released on Thursday.

It's the highest daily number of coronavirus cases since mid-July, according to the official data, Xinhua news agency reported.

The country also recorded another 157 coronavirus-related deaths. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 138,237. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test.

There are currently 7,024 patients in hospital with Covid-19.

The data came as a study has found coronavirus infections among children increased in England last month after schools reopened.

According to the REACT-1 study led by Imperial College London, the epidemic was estimated to be growing among those under 17, with coronavirus reproduction number, also known as the R number, estimated at 1.18.

The R number indicates the average number of people each Covid-positive person goes on to infect. An R number above one means the coronavirus outbreak is growing exponentially while the number below one means the case rate is shrinking.

By contrast, the figure for 18 to 54-year-olds was estimated at 0.81, indicating that the epidemic is contracting, while for those over 55 it was broadly steady.

More than 85 per cent of people aged 12 and over in Britain have had their first dose of vaccine and more than 78 per cent have received both doses, the latest figures showed.