London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

One in 200 in England has Covid-19, but growth of new cases ‘may have slowed’

One in 200 in England has Covid-19, but growth of new cases ‘may have slowed’

A large-scale study has showed that the UK government’s efforts to control the pandemic may be working, as those infected are passing the virus on to fewer people. However, the overall number of infections has increased.
Researchers from Imperial College London tested more than 80,000 volunteers between September 18 and 26. The results, compiled by the polling organization Ipsos MORI, showed the infections had “increased substantially across all age groups and areas of the country.”

More than one in 200 people in England has Covid-19, the study concluded. This is a higher figure than that produced via the data from a previous study in late August to early September, which showed that 13 people per 10,000 were infected.

However, at the same time, the so-called ‘R number’ – which indicates how many people each infected person passes the virus on to, on average – fell from 1.7 to 1.1. And that’s a good sign, the researchers say.

Paul Elliott, director of the Real-Time Assessment of Community Transmission (REACT) study at Imperial, said the latest findings show “some early evidence that the growth of new cases may have slowed, suggesting efforts to control the infection are working.”

Nonetheless, he warned that “the prevalence of infection is the highest that we have recorded to date,” stressing the need for strong measures to curb the spread of the virus.

The study’s author, Professor of Infectious Disease Dynamics at Imperial, Steven Riley, noted that the situation in England is “fast-moving,” and urged “continued engagement from the public” to prevent unnecessary hospitalizations and deaths.

In an interview with Sky News, former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt cited the study as “a glimmer of hope” that the UK might be getting closer to Italy, which had eventually “managed to contain the virus in the north of the country.”

The resurgence of Covid-19 has forced the government to halt its plans to continue easing restrictions. Instead, last week, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced tougher rules on mask-wearing and social distancing, and Health Secretary Matt Hancock hinted that that the county risks going into a second nationwide lockdown if the situation continues getting worse.

A total of 7,108 new cases was recorded in the UK on Wednesday, compared to 7,143 the day before, which was the highest daily increase since the start of the outbreak.

On Wednesday, the government’s chief scientific adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance, gave the stark warning that “we don’t have this under control at the moment,” and “there is no cause for complacency.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×