LONDON: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday urged continued caution as the daily COVID-19 infections have registered a drop over the past few days and warned against drawing “premature conclusions” about the course of the pandemic in the country.
The number of new COVID-19 infections in the UK fell for the sixth day in a row on Monday and now stands at 24,950.
However, this is more than 10 times higher than the levels seen in early May, with only a week having passed since legal lockdown restrictions were significantly lifted from most parts of the country.
“I’ve noticed, obviously, that we’re six days into some better figures. But it’s very, very important that we don’t allow ourselves to run away with premature conclusions about this,” said Johnson.
“Step 4 of the opening-up only took place a few days ago. People have got to remain very cautious, and that remains the approach of the government,” he said.
He was speaking to reporters on the first day of being out and about at the end of his 10-day self-isolation following contact by the health service to be warned of exposure to COVID-positive UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid.
Asked about the so-called “pingdemic” of people being pinged, or contacted on the phone, by the NHS Test and Trace service to send them into self-isolation, he said, “I totally understand that, particularly now as we’re starting to see some better figures.
“But I think everybody understands that this is still a very dangerous disease. We do need to use the tools that we have. Self-isolation is the one that we’ve got. I urge people to do it.”
The government has been forced to widen its list of essential workers who can use a test and release system to return to work if COVID negative after a rising number of people being forced into self-isolation were impacting businesses.
The system is set to come in force wider from August 16, but “until then, please could everybody stick with the programme,” Johnson urged.
Earlier, a senior government adviser and the expert behind the UK’s initial decision to lockdown in March last year told the BBC he was hopeful the worst of the pandemic would be over by October.
“The effect of vaccines is hugely reducing the risk of hospitalisations and death,” said epidemiologist Professor Neil Ferguson.
“And I’m positive that by late September or October time we will be looking back at most of the pandemic.
We will have COVID with us, we will still have people dying from COVID, but we’ll have put the bulk of the pandemic behind us,” he said.
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