VIRUS FADING
UK Covid cases fall by a THIRD in a week and deaths down almost 20% piling pressure on Boris to show way out of lockdown
THE number of new Covid infections were today down by more than a third in a week as almost 20 per cent fewer patients died - piling further pressure on Boris Johnson to ease the nation out of lockdown.
MPs this week urged the Prime Minister to lift restrictions sooner than his March 8 goal as experts declared we are already "past the peak".
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A total of 3,911,573 have now tested positive for the bug in the UK since the start of the pandemic while 111,264 have lost their lives.
But today's rise in infections is almost 10,000 fewer (34 per cent) than last Friday's jump when another 29,079 cases were confirmed.
The rise in deaths today is also 18.5 per cent smaller than it was last Friday, when 1,245 fatalities were recorded.
Boris Johnson reiterated this week that March 8 would be the "earliest" any lockdown rules could be relaxed as he warned the level of infection is still "forbiddingly high".
But England’s chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty said he believes “we are past the peak”, and that cases, hospital admissions and deaths will continue to fall.
It comes as...
- Oxford scientists say their Covid vaccine DOES protect against Kent mutant strain
- Primary school kids in Wales to return to class from February 22 – as ministers consider extending the school day
- Brits will be allowed to meet more pals outside to socialise and play sport in first stage of Covid lockdown easing
- One million people in North West told to get Covid test NOW if they have runny nose
- 143 Brits died shortly after their Covid jabs but vaccines ‘didn’t play a role’, say regulators
The PM is due to reveal his "phased" route out of lockdown in the week beginning February 22 with schools set to start reopening on March 8.
But senior Tory MPs have urged him to lift all restrictions by May.
Mark Harper — chairman of the Covid Recovery Group of lockdown sceptics, with 70 Tory MPs — said: “Back-of-the-envelope calculations I did based on two million doses a week mean you could get the top nine priority groups, first doses, and the top four groups, second doses, all done by the end of May.
“So it seems to me by the time you get to the end of May, no later than that, you should be in a position to get rid of restrictions completely.
“But obviously it does depend on the rollout of the vaccine.”
Meanwhile, Paul Hunter, professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia, said yesterday the rate of the fall in Covid cases made him optimistic for March.
He said household mixing should be allowed soon after pupils return to school - and he thinks that could be before the Prime Minister's March 8 target date.
It was revealed today that primary school kids will start returning to class in Wales from February 22, because they were the least likely to transmit coronavirus.
Teachers will be able to get tested twice a week to try and boost confidence in the return to classrooms, too.
But Boris has insisted it's still too early for England, as the cases are still too high and more than 30,000 people are still in hospital.
This is the cautious approach, its much better to stick to that.
Boris Johnson
The PM said he "understands people want to go further" and get back to normal as quickly as possible - and insisted: "I share that urgency."
But he vowed not to open schools too soon or there was a huge risk the nation could be "forced into reverse" and would have to turn on the brakes once again.
The PM added: "This is the cautious approach, its much better to stick to that."
In England, a further 537 Covid fatalities were confirmed today - including a 15-year-old with underlying health conditions.
It means 74,786 have now died from the bug in English hospitals.
The patients, who died between December 17 and February 4, were aged between 15 and 100 and all except 21 had underlying health problems.
A further 45 fatalities were recorded in Wales today, along with 399 new Covid cases.
Scotland reported 61 more deaths and 895 more infections.
Another 16 fatalities with the bug were recorded in Northern Ireland.
IN R-ETREAT?
It comes as England's coronavirus R rate fell below 1 for the first time since July, in a sign the spread of the virus is beginning to slow.
The official figure - which represents the number of people an infected person will pass Covid onto - is now between 0.7 and 0.9, Sage has said.
It's slightly lower than it was last week at 0.7 to 1.0, but is the first time it's fallen below the crucial value since July 3, last year.
For the UK as a whole, it's slightly higher at 0.7 to 1.0, but that's also a drop om last week when it was estimated to be between 0.7 and 1.1.
It may even be as low as 0.6 in the capital, according to the latest report based on data up to February 1.
The news is a further boost to national morale after ministers boasted today that all over 50s - and half of the UK population - will have been jabbed by the end of April.
Thirty-two million jabs for the over 50s and the vulnerable had been promised by the "Spring" - but the Cabinet Office confirmed today that means “by May”.
Yesterday, Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi said Britain will be able to massively ease restrictions once all over-50s have been offered the jab "by late spring".
But Downing Street had repeatedly refused to say when they believed Spring to end and Summer start.
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Latest figures show 10,971,047 have now received their first dose of the vaccine while 505,993 have had their second.
And researchers have quashed fears that the Oxford/AstraZenica vaccine can't beat the mutant Kent Covid strain, revealing it can indeed work against it.
Scientists behind the jab say it has a similar efficacy against the variant as with the original strain.
Andrew Pollard, Professor of Paediatric Infection and Immunity, and chief investigator on the Oxford vaccine trial, said: "Data from our trials of the ChAdOx1 vaccine in the United Kingdom indicate that the vaccine not only protects against the original pandemic virus.
"But also protects against the novel variant, B.1.1.7, which caused the surge in disease from the end of 2020 across the UK."
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It comes after it was revealed 140 Brits died shortly after having their Covid jab - although the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency insisted the vaccines are “safe” and didn't play a role in the 143 deaths.
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Officials say the majority of reported fatalities were in elderly people or people with underlying illness.
Investigators said there is no suggestion the jab played a role in the deaths.
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