Coronavirus cases fall for the EIGHTH day in a row: Infections drop to 38,009 but deaths rise to 74

The spread of Covid in Britain appears to be slowing down after the government reported 38,009 new cases of in the past week, representing the eighth day in a row that cases have fallen, and a 13.5% decline in new cases compared with the previous seven days. 

Department of Health bosses also posted 41,278 new coronavirus infections yesterday, down 8.2 per cent on last Saturday’s figure of 44,985.

Meanwhile, a total of 49,955,853 first doses of Covid-19 vaccine had been delivered in the UK by Saturday – a rise of 33,763 on the previous day – while some 45,697,856 second doses have been delivered, an increase of 24,908, according to government figures.

A combined total of 7,925,851 booster and third doses have also been delivered, a day-on-day rise of 361,428.

But a further 74 people were reported as having died within 28 days of a positive test for COVID-19, meaning the seven-day total for Covid related deaths was up by almost 16% from the previous week.

Hospitalisations and deaths both lag behind changes in daily infections because of the time it takes for the virus to incubate and disease to become severe.

The figures come after separate official data released on Friday showed more than a million people in England were infected with Covid on any day during the last week before half-term.

Bosses at the Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimate around one in 50 people — the equivalent of 1,102,800 — would have tested positive on any given day during the seven-day spell ending October 22. It claims infections have risen by almost 13 per cent in a week, soaring to a level not seen since the darkest days of Britain’s pandemic crisis in early January. 

In other coronavirus developments: 

• Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of London yesterday to protest against the possible introduction of vaccine passports as part of the Government’s winter Covid ‘Plan B’; 
• Wales is set to tighten Covid restrictions to tackle a rising number of hospital admissions; 
• A SAGE expert said further coronavirus waves cannot be ruled out and there is a lot of uncertainty about how the pandemic will pan out into the first half of next year; 
• Official data showed England’s Covid vaccine drive for children is going even slower than thought, prompting calls for the NHS to speed up the roll out over fears it could leave No10 with no option but to resort to Plan B;
• Health chiefs Friday claimed Covid vaccines appear to work just as well against the more transmissible Delta variant offshoot as they do on its ancestor.

Thousands of protesters marched through Piccadilly Circus on Saturday afternoon, taking to the streets to demand medical freedom, no vaccine passports and no future lockdowns

The demonstrators descended on central London from around 1pm yesterday to protest against the possible introduction of vaccine passports as part of the Government’s winter Covid ‘Plan B’

No10’s advisers said it was likely that cases would eventually fizzle out in children because they have built-up such high levels of immunity following the back-to-class wave. 

They also claimed half-term would act as a natural fire-breaker by curbing indoor mixing of children. 

‘Professor Lockdown’ Neil Ferguson, an epidemiologist who sits on SAGE, on Friday argued Plan B — which would see the return of face masks and work from home guidance if the NHS becomes overwhelmed — ‘shouldn’t be necessary’, if cases keep dropping and the booster roll-out continues at speed. 

Separate data from the country’s largest symptom-tracking study on Thursday suggested Britain is ‘worryingly close’ to recording 100,000 new Covid infections per day. 

Professor Tim Spector, the epidemiologist running the study, suggested the official Government daily count could be vastly underestimating the extent of Covid prevalence. 

It comes as Health Secretary Sajid Javid today called on all secondary school and college students to get tested regardless of symptoms before they return to classrooms next week. 

ONS data showed 9.1 per cent of children in years 7 to 11 had the virus on any given day last week.

Mr Javid said: ‘It is vital that they are taking free and easy rapid tests that will help detect Covid infections from those who are not showing symptoms to keep the virus at bay.’