England’s third lockdown sees ‘no evidence of decline’ in cases

LONDON – A third national lockdown in England appears to have had little impact on the rising rate of coronavirus infections, according to the results of a major study, with “no evidence of a decline” in the prevalence of the virus over the years. First 10 days of tighter restrictions.

The REACT-1 study, conducted by Imperial College London, warned that health services would remain under “extreme pressure” and that the cumulative number of deaths would rise rapidly unless the prevalence of the virus in the community was not is considerably reduced.

The findings of the pre-print report, released Thursday by Imperial College London and Ipsos MORI, come shortly after the UK recorded another coronavirus death record.

Government figures released on Wednesday showed an additional 1,820 people had died within 28 days of a positive Covid test. To date, the UK has recorded 3.5 million cases of coronavirus, with 93,290 deaths.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the latest figures were “appalling” and warned: “There are still tough weeks ahead”.

Johnson imposed lockdowns in England on January 5, ordering people to “stay at home” as most schools, bars and restaurants have been ordered to close. Strict public health measures are expected to remain in place until at least mid-February.

The REACT-1 study tests nose and throat swabs between 120,000 and 180,000 people in the community of England at intervals of about one month. The latest results mainly covered a period from January 6 to January 15.

The study compared the results with swabs taken between November 13 and November 24 and those taken between November 25 and December 3.

The researchers found 1,962 positive out of 142,909 swabs taken during the January period. This means that 1.58% of those tested had Covid on a weighted average.

This represents a more than 50% increase in prevalence rates since the study results in mid-December and is the highest recorded by REACT-1 since its launch in May 2020.

The prevalence from Jan.6 to Jan.15 was highest in London, according to the study, with 1 in 36 people infected, more than double the rate of previous REACT-1 results.

Infections had also more than doubled in the south-east of England, the east of England and the West Midlands compared to results published in early December.

“Our data show worrying suggestions of a recent increase in infections that we will continue to monitor closely,” Professor Paul Elliott, program director at Imperial, said in a statement.

“We all have a role to play to prevent this situation from worsening and must do our best to stay at home as much as possible,” he added.

The UK Department of Health and Welfare said the full impact of the lockdown measures would not yet be reflected in the prevalence figures reported in the REACT-1 study.

“These results show why we must not let our guard down over the coming weeks,” Health Secretary Matt Hancock said.

“It is absolutely paramount that everyone play their part in reducing infections. This means staying home and only going out where absolutely necessary, reducing contact with others and maintaining social distancing,” Hancock said.