Coronavirus UK: Covid cases are falling again after flat February, study finds

Covid cases are falling again after blip in February: Symptom-tracker app claims daily infections have dropped by 15% to 8,000 this week after hovering at 10,000 a day

  • Covid Symptom Study estimates there are now 8,111 people developing Covid-19 every day in the UK 
  • This was down 15% from 9,545 last week after cases hung between 9,000-10,000 throughout February
  • Study leader Professor Tim Spector said: ‘We are pleased to see numbers falling again’ but urged caution
  • Office for National Statistics will today update its estimate of the total number of people carrying the virus

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Coronavirus cases are coming down again in the UK after flattening off in February, the country’s top symptom-tracking study claims.

The Covid Symptom Study, run by ZOE and King’s College London, today estimated that there are now 8,111 people developing Covid symptoms every day.

Down 15 per cent from the 9,500 last week, the update has restarted the downward trend seen throughout January when lockdown began.

It adds to data from Public Health England yesterday that showed positive tests for the virus are still tumbling in all regions, age groups and local authorities, with only two parts of the country seeing cases rise last week – Hull and Wokingham.

A separate mass-testing survey, REACT by Imperial College London, found that the shrinking of the outbreak has slowed dramatically since January but it is still getting smaller.

The Office for National Statistics will today publish a new estimate of how many people in the country have the virus. Last week it stood at 374,000 – one in 145 people.

Professor Tim Spector, a King’s College epidemiologist behind the Covid Symptom Study, suggested that cold weather in February may have helped the virus spread and put the brakes on lockdown bringing cases down.

But today he sounded a note of optimism and said: ‘After reporting a flattening last week, possibly related to the cold snap, and with worries of new variants, we are pleased to see numbers falling again. 

‘It’s even more encouraging when we look at the bigger picture. Cases in hospital and deaths continue to fall, and vaccinations rise, putting us in a good position. 

‘However, we still need to keep numbers low and avoid further waves of infections.

‘Our app shows people are still getting infected within two weeks after vaccination when they have zero protection. 

‘With schools opening, we still need to be sensible to keep the good news flowing as we slowly return to normal life and hopefully ease lockdown earlier.’