1.3 million people infected with Covid at start of 2024
Covid cases almost halved in the first two weeks of the year despite increased mixing after people returned to school and work, new figures show.
After doubling in the first half of December and falling by a quarter in the second half, infections fell by 44 per cent in the two weeks until last Wednesday, 10 January, according to the latest official winter infection survey.
1.35 million people in England and Scotland were infected, representing 2.3 per cent of the population, or one person in 43, according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).
These latest figures suggest the current wave is in sharp decline, confirming that the fall in cases over the Christmas period reported last week has continued.
Scientists typically treat health data relating to Christmas and New Year with some caution because of changes in patterns of healthcare use, social mixing and lagged reporting due to the holidays.
At the same time, viral infections can often jump in early January after people return to school and work and start spreading cases.
However, consecutive weekly reports of a sharp fall in cases indicate there has been a sustained drop in infections – although scientists would like to see the next infection update to be sure.
“This is very encouraging news,” Professor Lawrence Young, a virologist at Warwick University, told i.
He cautioned: “These prevalence estimates are for the 2 weeks leading up to the 10th January and so we need to wait to see the real impact on infections of people returning to work and students going back to school. We also need to keep an eye on covid-related hospitalisations.
“But this is good news and suggests that a combination of booster vaccination and previous infections are providing good immune protection against currently circulating covid variants,” he said.
