LONDON (Reuters) – England’s third national COVID-19 blockade helps reduce infections, according to a study found on Thursday, but the prevalence of cases remains high as Prime Minister Boris Johnson sees a prudent path to return open the economy.
Johnson is set to set a roadmap outside the closure, which began Monday, Jan. 5, and has said it will be a prudent and prudent approach.
The study, known as REACT-1 and led by researchers at Imperial College London, found that the national prevalence was two-thirds lower between 4 and 13 February than it had been in the previous survey. which covered from 6 to 22 January.
“It is really encouraging news. We believe the blockade is having an effect. We have seen this decline quite quickly now between January and this month, ”Paul Elliott, director of Imperial’s program, told reporters.
“But … the real prevalence is still very high. We just went back to where we were in September. “
The latest figures showed that 51 out of 10,000 people were infected, down from 157 per 10,000 in the January survey and that infections take 15 days to halve.
Prevalence fell in all age groups, from 0.93% to 0.30% among those over 65, although researchers said they had no evidence that they were driven by the deployment of vaccines, aimed at larger groups.
REACT-1 is one of the largest and most monitored prevalence surveys in England, and the researchers published the provisional results in a prepress that had not been peer-reviewed.
Health Minister Matt Hancock said the findings were an encouraging sign that the closure was working.
“While the trends we have observed are good news, we need to work to keep infections low by following the measures,” he said.
Alistair Smout Reports; Edited by Kirsten Donovan