Coronavirus test
Coronavirus testKobi Richter/TPS

Britain on Wednesday reported its deadliest day since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, with 938 new deaths.

Scientists predict the country will enter the peak of the outbreak over the next week and its partial lockdown is expected to be extended by weeks. About 19% more people perished on Tuesday compared with a day earlier, according to Bloomberg.

In total, 60,733 people have tested positive for the virus, up from 55,242 reported on Tuesday, according to the latest figures from the Department of Health and Social Care.

Before Wednesday’s figures, the rate of increase in UK cases had been decelerating, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Some 14,682 tests were conducted in the country on April 7, more than the 14,006 conducted the day before. The U.K. aims to conduct 100,000 tests a day by the end of April, seeking to replicate the mass screening seen in countries such as South Korea and Germany.

In late March, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson ordered citizens to stay at home to halt the spread of coronavirus, imposing curbs on everyday life without precedent in peacetime.

Johnson himself later tested positive for COVID-19 and on Sunday was admitted to the hospital. He was transferred to intensive care on Monday when his condition deteriorated.

According to an update provided on Wednesday, the British Prime Minister’s condition is improving.

Syria agreed to destroy its chemical weapons in 2013 under a deal brokered by Moscow and Washington, but the OPCW has since found chlorine has been "systematically and repeatedly" used as a weapon.

(Arutz Sheva’s North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Passover in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)