Covid-19 infections in England have decreased by more than two-thirds in recent weeks, according to initial findings from a community prevalence study.
The interim findings from the ninth report of REACT-1, a study of Covid-19 infections in England, were released Thursday by Imperial College London.
More than 85,400 volunteers were tested with throat and nose swabs in England between February 4 and 13 to examine infection levels in the general population.
The findings show that the national prevalence has fallen by two-thirds – from 1.57% to 0.51%, or 51 per 10,000 people infected. This is a significant decrease in the number of infections compared to the last report from 6 to 22 January. England went in January for the third time the pandemic ended. 6.
“These encouraging results show that lockdown measures are effective at reducing infections. It is reassuring that the decline in infections has occurred across all ages and in most regions of the country, ”said Paul Elliott, program director at Imperial, in a statement.
The decline in prevalence was greater in some regions, notably London, where it fell from 2.83% to 0.54% since the last report.
“In London, South East and West Midlands, the prevalence decreased by about 80%, although the declines in the northern regions were smaller,” the Imperial report said.
Prevalence declined significantly across all age groups, with the highest prevalence among 18 to 24 year olds at 0.89% and those between 5 and 12 years at 0.86%, the report adds. The report concludes that, while there has been a “sharp drop” in the prevalence of coronavirus in England among the general population five to six weeks after shutdown, it still remains high – “at levels similar to those seen in late September 2020 were observed “.
There are also still more people hospitalized with Covid-19 than at the peak of the first wave in April 2020.
The UK began its massive vaccination campaign in December, offering nearly all over 70s a vaccine in January and February. It has now given more than 15 million people a first dose.
“The decrease in prevalence was similar among those aged 65 and older compared to other age groups, suggesting that if vaccines reduce both transmission and disease, this effect is not yet a major driver of prevalence trends. Therefore, the observed falls described here are most likely due to diminished social interactions during lockdown, ”the report states.
“We don’t know yet whether a vaccination will stop someone from passing the virus on to others,” added the UK’s Department of Health.
On Tuesday, however, the UK Office for National Statistics reported that nearly 41% of the over-80s in England tested positive for antibodies “most likely because of the high vaccination coverage in this group.”