Is Omicron wave already flattening off? UK Covid cases drop just 4%

There were signs the UK’s wave of Omicron infections was starting to level off today as the country reported just a 4 per cent fall in daily cases — but hospital admissions fell for the sixth day in a row.

Government dashboard data shows another 95,787 positive tests were logged in the last 24 hours, down only slightly on the 99,652 recorded last Friday.

It marks the 16th day in a row that cases have fallen week-on-week but the downward curve has slowed in the past two days, dropping by just 1.6 per cent yesterday. 

Latest hospital data shows there were 1,974 Covid hospital admissions on January 17, marking a 18.5 per cent fall on the previous week. 

There were also 288 deaths within 28 days of a positive test for the virus registered today, up by just under 7 per cent compared to a week ago. 

A growing number of experts have called on the Government to stop publishing daily Covid figures because they they claim they are ‘misleading’ and fuelling an ‘unhealthy addiction’ to the stats.

Meanwhile, London Mayor Sadiq Khan today declared London’s emergency Covid status over as the capital’s case numbers continue to plummet and hospitalisations trend down. 

Mr Khan had declared a ‘major incident’ last month when London rapidly became the country’s Omicron hotspot and saw an unprecedented one in 10 Londoners infected on some weeks.

England’s R rate fell to between 0.8 and 1.1, the UK Health Security Agency said today, adding that cases are likely shrinking as Prime Minister Boris Johnson reopens the economy.

An R number between 0.8 and 1.1 means that for every 10 people infected, they will on average infect between 8 and 11 other people. Last week the range was 1.1 to 1.5.

The daily growth of infections was estimated at between minus 6 per cent to plus 1 per cent, a big fall of the previous weeks range of 1 per cent to 5 per cent. The UKHSA said the figures represented the situation in England 2-3 weeks ago.

Johnson on Wednesday announced the end of Covid measures, including mandatory face masks in England, as he looks to live with the virus after a peak in cases caused by the rapid spread of the Omicron variant.

Mr Khan said he is standing down the major incident status in the capital today but warned the city will remain on high alert.

The mayor’s office said the decision comes following the gradual improvement in the number of cases in the capital, the pressures on critical services delivery reducing to manageable levels and a significant improvement in staff absences.

Mr Khan said: ‘Our NHS and emergency services have gone above and beyond during an extremely testing period for our city.

‘Everyone who wore a mask, took a lateral flow test or followed the advice to work from home where possible, has played their part in reducing the pressure they faced and enabled us to stand down the ‘major incident’ in London today.