CORONAVIRUS figures have fallen for the first time in six weeks as the number of people testing positive in England dipped by almost 10 per cent.
New promising NHS figures showed the total number of people being tested positive for the virus fell week-on-week for the first time since July.
⚠️ Read our coronavirus live blog for the latest news & updates
Government data for the NHS Test and Trace system in the week ending August 19 showed some 6,115 people tested positive for coronavirus in England.
It was a drop of eight per cent week-on-week and was the first time positive test figures had fallen since the week ending July 15.
The fall in the figures also came as the number of tests had actually increased from the previous week, with 442,392 - a jump of 7,333.
Coronavirus figures had been increasing according the metric every week since July - possibly linked to an increase in testing over the same period.
The positive case figure had been falling from the end of May, but started creeping up again in the second week of last month.
Figures from the week ending August 12 had hit a high of 6,656 - the biggest number since June before finally falling away again last week.
NHS Test and Trace was first launched at the end of May in a bid to more effectively monitor the spread of the virus as the UK eased out of lockdown.
Anyone who tests positive for the virus is contacted by officials who will then try to track down other people the patient may have had contact with to alert them.
However, despite the fall in positive cases - NHS Test and Trace failed to hit its target of tracking down 80 per cent of close contacts of patients for the ninth week in a row.
Some 75.5 per cent of close contacts in England were reached in the week ending August 19.
3
3
The figure is however up from 71.6 per cent in the previous week, as the service tries to reach the target set by the Government's advisory group Sage.
It is hoped NHS Test and Trace will soon be able to reach 80 per cent of contacts of coronavirus cases within 48-72 hours.
Testing is broken down into the categories pillar 1, testing in hospitals and outbreak locations, and pillar 2, nationwide swab tests.
Ahead of this week's figures being published, Health Secretary Matt Hancock acknowledged the system was "not quite there".
He told LBC radio on Thursday: "One of the challenges is we want to get NHS Test and Trace up to over 80 per cent of contacts, getting them to self-isolate - we're at just over 75 per cent, so we're nearly there but not quite there."
Since the launch of Test and Trace, 246,262 close contacts of people who have tested positive for covid-19 have been reached through the system and asked to self-isolate.
3
Saffron Cordery, the deputy chief executive of NHS Providers, which represents hospital bosses, said it was "encouraging to see to see a significant fall" in the positive tests - but added it was a "mixed picture".
Ms Cordery said:"It’s worrying to see that too many people are still not being reached by the system."
"It’s also a real concern that overall turnaround times for swabs taken in the community are taking longer.
"This is a key component of an effective test and trace system which we’ll need for the months ahead. Clearly, we’re not there yet."
Baroness Dido Harding, the interim head of the new National Institute for Health Protection, said: "This country now has the capacity to test for coronavirus and trace contacts on an unprecedented scale to stop the spread of the virus.
“We will continue to build the service further to reach more and more people and to scale up our testing capacity by expanding our network of testing sites and investing in new technologies."
It came as today another 12 people died of coronavirus in the UK, with the daily figures remaining above the crucial 1,000-a-day mark.
However, the last time the death toll breached 20 was on July 29 - with 34 - as the number of coronavirus fatalities seems to have plateaued in the UK.
Daily case counts have crept up in August from a low of 353 in July, but the daily death figures remain relatively stable.
Experts have said that the rise in cases, but not deaths, is likely down to an increase in testing being carried out across the UK.
Some areas have reported a surge in cases, such as in Oxford and Redditch.
Meanwhile, previous hot spots mostly in the north - including Leicester and Oldham - have seen infections fall.
Cases are also dropping in Manchester, where it's believed tough new local lockdown laws could be relaxed.
Residents had been told to keep out of each other's homes for a month after cases spiked.
Ministers have been clear the government was step in to try and control any outbreak to keep Britain from returning to months of lockdown - with a watch list of risk locations.
Strict new rules continue to be rolled out - such as £10,000 fines for people who organise illegal parties - and powers have been handed out to introduce local lockdowns.
However, Professor John Clancy, of Birmingham City University, warned this week current fears of cities in Britain returning to lockdown are based on "dodgy data".
He argued the figures show some 91 per cent of neighborhoods in England have recorded zero coronavirus cases in a month.
Elsewhere, Matt Hancock has today exposed a divide in the Cabinet after he said he was happy for his civil servants to keep working from home.
Boris Johnson has repeatedly urged Brits to head back to offices - and he specifically told Whitehall officials to get back to their desks in order to set an example.
But many of the UK's top firms say they don't have any plans to return all workers to offices anytime soon.
Fifty companies - from banks to retailers - were quizzed as part of an anonymous poll and 24 said they did not have any plans in place for employees to return.
HAZMAT SWOOP
Covid passenger is dragged off Ryanair flight after text saying he’s positive
PROMS ROW
Eamonn & Farage clash with BLM activist who says 'people don't care' about Proms
ICE BLAST
'Polar Plunge' brings -1C FROST on coldest Aug Bank Holiday in 40 years
SHARK ATTACK
Shock moment Coast Guard OPENS FIRE on 8ft shark circling swimmers
TURFED OUT
Furious new-build homeowners told 6.5ft of their gardens will be dug up for path
CZECH MATE
Czech Republic & Switzerland now on quarantine list but holidays to Cuba back on
However, schools are preparing to reopen to all pupils next week as the government assured it will be safe for children.
The Prime Minister yesterday said the biggest threat to pupils is a missed education - not coronavirus - as the government announced a u-turn on masks for secondary school children.
Fears have surfaced of second nationwide coronavirus lockdown as officials warned the end of the year will be "bumpy" for Britain.
Emergency plans have been drawn up to protect the UK from the perfect storm of a winter second wave of Covid-19 coinciding with a No Deal Brexit.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiTWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnRoZXN1bi5jby51ay9uZXdzLzEyNTE4MzQxL2Nvcm9uYXZpcnVzLWluZmVjdGlvbnMtZmFsbC1zaXgtd2Vla3Mv0gFRaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cudGhlc3VuLmNvLnVrL25ld3MvMTI1MTgzNDEvY29yb25hdmlydXMtaW5mZWN0aW9ucy1mYWxsLXNpeC13ZWVrcy9hbXAv?oc=5
2020-08-27 19:18:00Z
52781023043433
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar