Number of Brits falling ill with Covid drops by 33 per cent in a week

The number of British people reporting Covid-19 symptoms has fallen to its lowest level since September

The Covid Symptom Study, run by ZOE and King’s College London, have estimated that around 5,494 people per day are now falling ill - down from 8,111 last week. 

Professor Tim Spector, a British epidemiologist working on the study, said the worst is now behind us. 

He credited the UK’s world-leading vaccine roll out as a contributing factor. 

“With 22 million vaccinations administered, deaths and admissions falling at similar speeds, I believe we can be hopeful the darkest days are behind us,” he said.

Adding: “It’s great to see case rates falling to levels that are among the lowest in Europe.”

However, figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) today suggest that the week up to 6 March that infection numbers have started to plateau, or even rise, in some areas. 

The ONS say there are “early signs” in a possible increase in inferior numbers in the South East and South West of England.

But the ONS have urged caution when it comes to reading too much into these changes.