London, The British government announced on Thursday that the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country has risen to 11,658 and the death toll jumped by over 100 in a day for the first time since the outbreak of the disease.

A total of 115 people had died of COVID-19 in 24 hours, bringing the toll to 578, the government said. The number of confirmed cases registered an increase of 2,129 on Thursday, from 9,529 on Wednesday, Xinhua reported.

The latest official figures came at a time when global coronavirus infection cases surpassed half a million.