UK’s daily Covid cases fall by 50% in a month for second day running

THE UK's daily Covid cases have fallen again by 50 per cent in a month.

Today another 45,375 new infections have been logged, compared to 88,171 on February 3.

There have also been 194 more tragic deaths from the virus today.

However, the total number of fatalities reported today includes a number of backlogged deaths from yesterday.

There have now been 19,074,696 Covid infections over the course of the pandemic, with 161,898 fatalities.

Covid is still spreading throughout the UK, but is far less dangerous than it once was.

Omicron is milder - especially in the vaccinated - and leaves the majority of people with cold-like symptoms.

However it won't be mild for all, so Brits have been encouraged to keep up with their vaccines and avoid spreading the bug if they know they have it.

Last month Boris Johnson brought the curtain down on months of curbs, saying it was now for ordinary Brits - not ministers - to decide how people live their lives.

He told MPs: "We will encourage people with Covid-19 symptoms to enact personal responsibility, in the same way we would with flu.

"We don't need laws to compel people to be considerate to others - we can rely on that sense of responsibility for others.

"So let us learn to live with is protecting ourselves and others without restricting our freedoms."

BA.2 - dubbed Omicron's "stealth sister" sub-variant - has now become the dominant strain.

Although just as mild, it spreads an estimated 30 to 60 per cent faster than the original Omicron (BA.1).

Studies are also evaluating the risk of reinfection with BA.2.

There have been cases of double-Omicron infection, when someone has caught BA.1 followed by BA.2, the WHO said.

However, the jabs are still highly effective against it - but a booster shot is imperative.

The UK Health and Security Agency (UKHSA) showed that three doses are in fact more protective against BA.2 than they are against BA.1.