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21 January 2022

How Covid-19 cases in the UK have plummeted

The number of new coronavirus cases has more than halved.

By Ben Walker

Data from the government’s own coronavirus dashboard of confirmed Covid cases suggests the UK has passed the peak of the Omicron wave.

In the days and weeks following Christmas, the estimated number of Brits with the virus peaked. According to the ONS’s own Infection Survey, in England it was estimated that one in 15 residents contracted Covid-19. In Scotland, case levels also peaked during the same week at a similar level.

But the number of new cases is now dramatically lower. In the opening days of January, the rate for new Covid cases was more than 180,000. As of 19 January, the number had more than halved to 82,000.

The Omicron wave, which saw more confirmed infections this winter than the last, appears now to be receding. 

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