... and there’s fewer than 100 cases a day in the over-70s

FEWER than 100 virus cases a day are now occurring in the over70s as almost all have immunity to Covid, official figures show.

Public Health England found that 93.5 per cent of people aged 70 to

4 tested positive for antibodies by mid-March – up from 41 per cent a month earlier.

Department of Health data found infections in the over-70s have fallen below 100 for the past two days – down from more than 6,000 cases a day in January.

The number of adults in their 60s with antibodies has trebled to 61 per cent in a month, PHE said.

Across all age groups, 46 per cent of the population in England now have antibodies to Covid.

Antibodies are made by the body following vaccination or infection and they protect against reinfection and serious disease.

The PHE report found weekly case rates and hospital admissions are falling in all regions and age groups.

They are lowest among 70 to 79year-olds at just 7.2 per 100,000.

They are highest in children aged 10 to 19, at 54.3 per 100,000, but notably they have not increased since schools reopened.

Dr Yvonne Doyle, medical director at PHE, said: ‘We have come a long way since the start of the year, and the terrible peak we saw during the winter.

‘Whatever your plans next week, please remember to follow the rules and take up your vaccine when offered one. Let’s not blow it now.’

Yesterday another 3,030 cases and 53 deaths were recorded.

Data from the Office for National Statistics revealed the number of weekly coronavirus deaths has fallen 92 per cent from the second wave peak.

There were just 719 deaths from Covid-19 registered in the week ending March 26, down 24 per cent from the previous week and down from ,433 in the final week of January.