Victory is in sight as our threat level falls
THE nation moved a step closer to defeating coronavirus after the alert level was lowered from four to three.
The decision follows a recommendation by the chief medical officers of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
It means the epidemic is in general circulation but transmission is no longer high or rising exponentially.
The UK’s current virus growth rate is between minus two per cent and minus four per cent and the reproduction number, referred to as R, remains at 0.7 to 0.9.
Caution
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: “The UK moving to a lower alert level is a big moment for the country, and a real testament to the British people’s determination to beat this virus.
“The Government’s plan is working. Infection rates are rapidly falling, we have protected the NHS and, thanks to the hard work of millions in our health and social care services, we are getting the country back on her feet.”
But Professor Matt Keeling, a population disease expert at Warwick University, urged caution and warned of a new phase of “isolated clusters of cases that need to be contained”.
Meanwhile, the death toll reached 42,461 yesterday after 173 more fatalities were recorded in the previous 24 hours.