On Monday, for the first time since the pandemic began in March 2020, not a single death from COVID-19 was recorded in the UK. The country is preparing to fully lift the lockdown measures on June 21, although experts are concerned about a slight increase in the number of infections.
According to data released Tuesday, no one in the United Kingdom who had been diagnosed with a “coronavirus infection” in the previous 28 days died the previous day (this is the criterion in the United Kingdom for determining whether a person has died as a result of COVID-19). The number of new infections throughout the country was registered at 3165. The day before there were 3383, and a week ago – 2493.
However, experts caution that data often lags and can be incomplete on weekends – and this Monday was a day off in the UK. Last week, 43 people in the UK died from COVID. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the first day of zero deaths during the pandemic was the result of a successful vaccination campaign. “But despite this undoubtedly good news, we have not yet defeated the virus, the number of infections is increasing, so please don’t forget: hands, face, distance, ventilate the room, and of course, get both vaccines,” said Minister Hancock.
As the head of the BBC’s statistics department, Robert Cuff, explained, the first day without a fatality is definitely a historic day and good news, but it should be approached with a certain amount of skepticism. First, some data for a non-working Monday may be received with a delay of one to two days. Secondly, if we use the current criterion – death within 28 days of detection of the virus – there has already been one day without a death in the UK: July 30 last year. But the criteria for recording were different then, and there are deaths recorded in the official statistics for that day.
The vaccination campaign in the United Kingdom is progressing much faster than in most other countries. Almost half of the adult population, 25.7 million people, have already received both doses of the COVID vaccine. At least 39.5 million people have already been vaccinated, representing approximately 75% of the adult population. However, experts such as government advisor Professor Adam Finn warn that the battle against COVID-19 is not yet over, as there are still significant numbers of unvaccinated people. They are calling for a postponement of the planned lifting of the remaining restrictions on June 21.
In the UK, three quarters of the adult population have already received the first dose of the vaccine. Experts say the third wave of the pandemic is beginning in Britain, although for now the number of infections is ten times lower and the number of deaths hundreds of times lower than at the peak in January. According to the government’s press service, Prime Minister Boris Johnson sees no reason to postpone the final lifting of the lockdown for the time being. The government plans to make an official decision on June 14. However, this decision only applies to England: the devolved authorities of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland introduce and lift restrictions at their own discretion.
In the last week, the number of COVID-19 infections in the UK has increased and remained above 3000 cases per day (at its peak in January, it was over 60 thousand). This growth is associated with the spread of the more contagious “Indian” strain, now called “Delta”: The World Health Organization has decided to name the main strains of the virus after letters in the Greek alphabet. Experts estimate that up to three-quarters of infections in the UK are currently caused by the “Delta” variant.