Covid cases close to the levels seen BEFORE the second wave

Coronavirus CASES have returned to levels seen before the second wave of the pandemic, fueling hopes that the lockdown could be eased sooner rather than later.

Figures released today by Public Health England (PHE) have also revealed that 99 percent of areas have witnessed a drop in infections.

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NHS Test and Trace data shows that there has been a 29 percent drop in Covid positive cases.

It represents the seven days to February 10 and shows that 106,474 patients tested positive for the virus in England.

The number of people who test positive is now only nine percent
higher than in the week ending December 2, 2020.

In January, infections peaked and more than 300,000 people tested positive in a week.

However, in October, before the second national coronavirus lockdown was introduced in November, weekly cases hovered around 100,000 per week.

During this time, the country was divided into a tiered system, with some areas still able to mingle with people outside their homes in pubs and restaurants, and for most people, gyms were still open.

PHE data released today shows that 147 out of 149 local authorities saw a decrease in cases per 100,000 people in the week through February 14.

It comes as:

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The two areas where infections increased were Northeast Lincolnshire and Tameside, by 12 percent and 9 percent, respectively.

Several of the authorities where cases have been stable or barely decreased are in Yorkshire: Doncaster, Rotherham, Calderdale and Barnsley.

Some are in Manchester, including Bury and Stockport, and in the northeast: Darlington, North Tyneside, and Redcar and Cleveland.

The biggest decline was in Rutland, East Midlands, where the case rate fell by nearly 75%, from 466 cases per 100,000 to 123.

Huge improvements were seen in London, which struggled with sky-high infection rates in December due to the new Kent variant.

Several London boroughs saw cases cut in half: Richmond, Lewisham, Havering, Croydon, Enfield, Greenwich, Southwark, Islington, WEstminster, Newham, Wandsworth, Housnlow and Redbridge.

The PHE report, released every Thursday, said Middlesborough had the highest case rate for the week through Feb. 14, with 283 cases per 100,000, followed by Sandwell with 265.

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Plymouth had the lowest, 46 cases per 100,000, followed by Devon and Cornwall.

The new data sets come as Covid deaths in the UK rose today by 454, a 33 percent drop from the figure recorded this time last week.

A further 12,057 infections were recorded, meaning 4,083,242 have tested positive for the virus in Britain since the start of the pandemic.

Today’s increase in deaths is less than last Thursday, when 678 more deaths were confirmed.

Fewer new infections were also reported today than at this time last week (13,494).

The latest figures mean that a total of 119,387 have died from coronavirus in the UK.

Earlier today, Imperial College London also revealed that cases have dropped by two-thirds since January.

Scientists hailed the drop in cases as “really encouraging” yesterday, but warned that the pressure on hospitals must ease before we unblock the country.

Britain’s largest virus infection survey found that the R rate has dropped to 0.7, even as low as 0.6 in London.

The React study, from Imperial College London, conducted swab tests on 85,000 people in England between February 6 and 13.

They revealed that all regions of England have seen a drop in cases, with London, the South East and the West Midlands experiencing the biggest drop.

About 52 people in 10,000 test positive for the virus now, which is similar to the rates we saw in September of last year.

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Infections are cut in half every 15 days, which is good news for Prime Minister Boris Johnson as he prepares to reveal the roadmap out of lockdown.

Positive cases across all age groups have decreased, with the youngest schoolchildren and young adults registering the highest numbers.

Evidence from different sources shows that infections are declining across the country.

Johnson said it is “absolutely correct” to take the “data, not dates” approach before easing restrictions in England.

The fate of Britain’s lockdown could be decided tomorrow when the prime minister receives the latest figures from Covid.

The crisp document will outline exactly where the UK stands at the moment in terms of cases, deaths, tests and vaccinations and will likely be the report that confirms or changes Boris’ plans.

On Monday, the prime minister will announce the UK’s route out of the blockade, which he insisted would be “cautious but irreversible.”

‘APPROACH CAUTION’

Professor Paul Elliott, director of the React program at Imperial College London, said that while the latest findings are encouraging, there must still be a “cautious” approach.

He told Sky News: “At the moment, prevalence levels are still very, very high. We just have to lower them further.

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“It is really encouraging news, what we have seen reported today, that the virus is decreasing, the R value is well below 1, which means that the epidemic is reducing instead of growing.”

“But we have to be cautious because at the moment, as I say, the pressure on the NHS remains severe and there are still a large number of hospitalized coronavirus patients, sadly.”

The Test and Trace figures also show that cases are detected earlier.

Between February 4 and 10, 97.4% of the Pillar 1 tests were available within 24 hours.

These are smear tests performed by PHE in hospitals and on people with a clinical need.

Test and Trace states that the percentage of tests available in 24 hours has “increased in the last 7 weeks.”

This, they say, is the highest percentage available within 24 hours of reporting.

Yesterday Chris Hopson, CEO of NHS Providers, which represents NHS trusts in England, said there were four things the government should make sure of before the lockdown was lifted.

They include waiting for Covid infections to plummet to less than 50,000. The most recent figures from ONS put that number at 695,400 people with Covid in England and Wales.