Oxford Street is empty of buyers as the national blockade against coronavirus three continues.
Mike Kemp | In the photos | Getty Images
Britain has begun reducing cases of the most infectious South African variant of the coronavirus and will only step out of the blockade in stages to ensure that it doesn’t change, the country’s health secretary said on Sunday.
The day before Prime Minister Boris Johnson set his plan to ease restrictions in England, Hancock said there was also early data showing that the vaccine’s launch faster than expected was reducing transmissions and easing pressure on hospitals.
Britain has the fifth worst number of official COVID-19 deaths in the world, with 120,365 deaths, but an early effort to secure the mass supply of vaccines means that one in three adults has already had their first injection and rates daily mortality rates started to fall.
Hancock said that, in total, the UK has recorded about 300 cases of the most infectious South African variant of the disease that causes COVID-19.
“But most of these are now historical cases and they occurred more than a month ago,” he told the BBC’s Andrew Marr program. “The latest data shows that there are about a dozen new ones, a much, much smaller number.”
England has also introduced quarantines in hotels to prevent variants from traveling abroad.
So far, Britain has given the first dose of a vaccine to 17.2 million people, more than a quarter of its population of 67 million and second only to Israel and the United Arab Emirates in vaccines per capita of the population.
The government said on Sunday that all adults in Britain will receive a first dose by the end of July, with the goal of giving a first dose to everyone over 50 by April 15.
But despite the improvement in the picture, Hancock and leading epidemiologist John Edmunds said the restrictions should be eased smoothly and in stages, to see the impact of increased movement of people on the virus.
Hancock suggested that each easing could take a few weeks to detect the impact, before another part of the economy could reopen. Schools are expected to return first in early March.
Edmunds said it is difficult to say how widespread the South African variant is, but that, like the rest of the pandemic, it is being held in place by the blockade.
“The risk arises when we release the blockade,” he said, adding that allowing the virus to circulate in younger, healthier people could lead to new mutations that undermine the vaccination program.
Johnson will present his thoughts on easing the blockade on Monday. Despite pressure from a section of lawmakers in his party who were shocked by the 10% contraction of the economy in 2020, the prime minister must be cautious.
“There should be no doubt – the way out of the blockade will be cautious and gradual, as we all continue to protect ourselves and those around us,” Johnson said in a statement.