CORONAVIRUS infections have faded to levels not seen since July 2020 as cases have more than halved in a week, new data has revealed. Experts say there are now less than 2,000 symptomatic infections of the virus on a weekly basis. Data from the ZOE Symptom Tracker app shows that in the last week 1,924 […]
CORONAVIRUS infections have faded to levels not seen since July 2020 as cases have more than halved in a week, new data has revealed.
Experts say there are now less than 2,000 symptomatic infections of the virus on a weekly basis.
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Data from the ZOE Symptom Tracker app shows that in the last week 1,924 new cases of the virus were recorded, down from 4,152 daily cases a week ago.
That’s down 54 per cent in the last week and since January, infections have come down by 98 per cent, after reaching a peak of 69,000 new infections a day at the start of the year.
The lead author of the study, Professor Tim Spector, today said the UK is now in a similar position to where it was last summer.
During the summer months last year restrictions had been relaxed and people were allowed to mix indoors with different households.
While large scale events were still unable to go ahead, people were able to go to the gym, out for dinner with friends and even go on holiday.
Holidays abroad are still banned for Brits as the government battles to keep variants of concern out of the UK.
Prof Spector said: “According to the latest data, daily new cases of Covid have more than halved over a seven day period, with cases now below 2,000.
“These figures are among the lowest in Europe. Admissions and deaths are also continuing to decline, putting the UK in a similar place to July last year.
“It’s unlikely that cases will continue to fall at this pace, but with the vaccinations programme and the weather improving, it’s likely they will remain low.”
The data from the app also estimates that the R rate in the UK is currently at 0.7.
This is different from estimates from Sage which are released every Friday afternoon.
In the latest release from the government’s advisory board, experts estimated that the R rate in England was stable between 0.8 and 1.
Government officials failed to agree on the figure for across the UK because case numbers are so low.
Data from the ZOE app states that regional values put England at 0.8, Wales at 0.5 and Scotland at 0.8.
The experts said that the R value reflects the significant drop in cases in the last week.
As Britain’s vaccine rollout roars on, with more than 31.7 million jabbed, the number of people who have died with Covid has plunged almost 50 per cent in a month.
Another 45 deaths were recorded yesterday, with infections sinking 46 per cent month-on-month, after another 2,763 cases were reported on Wednesday, government data states.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s roadmap out of lockdown is going ahead, with more restrictions to be lifted on April 12.
Gyms, hair salons and non-essential shops will all be able to reopen and hospitality venues will be able to serve customers outside.
One way Mr Johnson said normal life will be able to resume is through rapid testing.
The government this week announced plans that all adults in England would have access to two rapid lateral flow tests a week.
The hope is that more cases will be caught – meaning community transmission rates will not be as high.
But experts have warned Brits that the tests aren’t always accurate.
Prof Spector said: “According to our own data 5 in 1000 of these tests give a false positive result, so we are encouraging people to take a lateral flow test at least twice if positive and confirm it with a full NHS PCR test.
“However, people also need to know all the 20 symptoms, including sore throat, headache and fatigue, not just the classic three. So if you feel unwell with any of the symptoms of Covid, stay at home and get a test.”
The NHS states that the three most common symptoms of Covid-19 are a new persistent cough, a high temperature and a loss of taste and smell.
