"The rising number of COVID-19 cases in the UK requires an expansion of the national SARS-CoV-2 genome sequencing capacity, to ensure that the benefits of using genome sequence data can be realised in a rapid and robust manner," the press release read.
The funds will be used to expand the whole genome sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 to assess how the virus spreads and evolves as the UK experiences a surge in the number of new cases of the coronavirus disease, according to the press release.
Since the start of the pandemic, more than 1.36 million cases of COVID-19 have been registered in the UK by the Department of Health and Social Care. The number of deaths reported in the UK that have COVID-19 on the death certificate currently stands at 61,648, according to department data.
On Sunday, public health officials in the United Kingdom registered 24,962 new positive tests for the coronavirus disease.
