London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 24, 2025

UK coronavirus risk is downgraded as threat to NHS recedes

UK coronavirus risk is downgraded as threat to NHS recedes

The UK’s four chief medical officers have agreed the Covid-19 alert level should move from five – its highest – down to four as the risk of the NHS being overwhelmed within 21 days “has receded”.

The alert level was raised to level five on January 4, the day Boris Johnson announced the third national lockdown for England.

Speaking at the time, the Prime Minister said it was necessary for everyone to stay at home as the UK entered the “last phase of the struggle”.

The UK’s four chief medical officers and NHS England’s national medical director Stephen Powis, said in a joint statement on Thursday that while the health services across the four nations remain under signigicant pressure, coronavirus patient numbers in hospitals are “consistently declining”.

They stressed that it was important people “remain vigilant” and continue to follow the guidelines.

“Following advice from the Joint Biosecurity Centre and in the light of the most recent data, the four UK chief medical officers and NHS England national medical director agree that the UK alert level should move from level five to level four in all four nations,” the statement says.

“The health services across the four nations remain under significant pressure with a high number of patients in hospital, however thanks to the efforts of public we are now seeing numbers consistently declining, and the threat of the NHS and other health services being overwhelmed within 21 days has receded.”

It continues: “We should be under no illusions – transmission rates, hospital pressures and deaths are still very high. In time, the vaccines will have a major impact and we encourage everyone to get vaccinated when they receive the offer. However for the time being it is really important that we all – vaccinated or not – remain vigilant and continue to follow the guidelines.

“We know how difficult the situation has been and remains to be for healthcare workers, we thank them for their immense effort, skill and professionalism throughout the pandemic.”

It comes as the latest data from Public Health England shows case rates are continuing to fall among all age groups.

The highest rate is among 30 to 39-year-olds, which stood at 174.4 cases per 100,000 people in the seven days to February 21, down week-on-week from 197.6.

Among 20 to 29-year-olds the rate dropped from 178.0 to 157.3, and for 40 to 49-year-olds it fell from 166.9 to 144.6.

For people aged 80 and over, the rate fell from 133.7 to 98.6.

Boris Johnson announced England’s roadmap out of lockdown on Monday.

When asked about “wiggle room” on current plans to lift lockdown if the data suggests infections and hospital admissions are falling fast as the vaccines are rolled out, the Prime Minister said it was important to remain cautious.

On a visit to Accrington Academy in Lancashire on Thursday morning, Mr Johnson said: “I think it’s very important to have a timetable that is sensible, that is cautious, but one that is also irreversible.

“And that’s the virtue of the timetable we have set out. Everybody knows the dates – March 8, kids back in school, April 12, shops reopen, May 17 hospitality reopens, June 21, we hope, if all things go according to plan, a general reopening.

“And I think those are a series of dates, towards which people can work and I think that the people of this country would rather trade some haste for some certainty and that’s why we’ve done it in the way that we have and we will still continue to stick to that plan.

“We’re sticking to our plan, obviously we will continue to look at data but the data currently still shows, as you know, that the incidence of the disease, sadly remains high. I’m afraid the numbers of people in hospital are still not far below the peak that they were in April last year.

“So we think that the road map that we’ve set out is a good and balanced one for us to get on a journey that is cautious, but as I say irreversible as well.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
×