COVID-19 infections in England drop 30% during national lockdown: investigation

LONDON (Reuters) – COVID-19 infections have fallen 30% during the month-long national lockdown in England and the virus is now on the decline, a large-scale study of more than 100,000 volunteers showed on Monday.

England began its second national lockdown on November 5 to curb the rapid rise in infections and protect its healthcare system. The country is expected to return to a regional approach to restrictions from December 2.

Infection levels fell 30%, with 96 people per 10,000 infected between Nov. 13 and Nov. 24, according to interim results from the Imperial College London and Ipsos MORI study.

The latest iteration of the research, conducted between October 16 and November 2, showed 130 infections per 10,000 people.

“The results show that cases were increasing when the country went into lockdown, but this was followed by a decrease as national measures were successful in reducing infection rates across the country,” a statement released by the health department.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has come under fire for the move to lock down in his own party, where some have said it was an unnecessary violation of civil liberties. The opposition Labor Party said it had been too slow to respond.

The number of reproducers of the virus was estimated at 0.88, bolstering data released Friday which showed the number of infections was falling between 0% and 2% each day.

While the statement said the prevalence of the disease was still high, it showed a sharp decrease in several areas of northern England which are expected to enter the strictest level of restrictions next week.

This could fuel further unrest within Johnson’s Conservative Party, where many lawmakers are unhappy with a system that subjects more than a third of the population to heavy restrictions on daily life.

Those measures are expected to be put to a vote on Tuesday, during which Johnson could face the political embarrassment of having to rely on votes from opposition parties to pass the new rules.