Coronavirus infections down by almost a third following second national lockdown

Coronavirus infections down by almost a third following second national lockdown

Coronavirus infections have dropped by almost a third in England during the second national lockdown, research suggests.

Falling infections in the North East and North West – where cases dropped by more than half – have helped to fuel the change, according to the latest findings from Imperial College London’s React study.

The study found the percentage of the population infected has more than halved in both the north-west – down from 2.53% to 1.08% – and in the north-east, down from 1.88% to 0.72%.

In Yorkshire and the Humber, it fell from 1.8% to 1.17%.

Overall, there was a 30% drop in coronavirus cases across the country in almost a fortnight.

The study of more than 105,000 volunteers estimates 1 in 100 people in England had the virus between 13th to the 24th November, a significant drop from the 1 in 80 reported on the 2nd November.

Previous studies showed that cases were doubling every nine days, contrary to now, where they are halving.

Professor Elliot, Chair in Epidemiology and Public Health Medicine, said:

“These trends suggest that the tiered approach helped to curb infections in these areas and that lockdown has added to this effect”.

“As we approach a challenging time of year, it’s even more vital that through our actions and behaviours we all play our part in helping to keep the virus at bay”.