Boris Johnson urges caution as falling Covid case numbers raise hopes for UK
The Prime Minister said that people should not get carried away by six days of lower Covid case numbers in the UK, and warned that the effects of Freedom Day had not yet fed through to the data.
Johnson urged people not to get complacent or jump to premature conclusions after the UK recorded six consecutive days of falling infections.
According to the latest government data, 24,950 people tested positive for Covid on Monday – less than half the spike of 54,574 recorded two days before Freedom Day on 17 July.
“I’ve noticed obviously that we’re six days into some better figures, but it is very, very important that we don’t allow ourselves to run away with premature conclusions about this,” Johnson told broadcasters, noting that the impact of lifting restrictions on 19 July was yet to show in the data.
“People have got to remain very cautious and that remains the approach of the government,” he added.
His warning came as Imperial College epidemiologist Neil Ferguson – whose analysis has been among the most influential scientific advice to the government during the pandemic – said that the end of Covid in the UK could be just months away, thanks to the vaccination rollout.
“We’re not completely out of the woods but the equation has fundamentally changed,” Ferguson told the BBC.
But he agreed with the PM that the full impact of easing restrictions was yet to appear in the data.
“We won’t see for several more weeks what the effect of the unlocking is,” he said. “We need to remain cautious, especially with the potential increase in contact rates again as the weather becomes less fine and schools return.”
It comes as a record 618,903 people were told to self-isolate by the NHS track and trace app last week.
From 16 August, double jabbed people will no longer have to isolate if they have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for coronavirus.
But with many sectors of the economy under mounting pressure due to staff having to isolate, many are calling for the rule change to be brought forward.