UK COVID-19 infections falling as govt mulls easing lockdown

LONDON (AP) — Clear evidence emerged Friday that the rate of coronavirus infections across the U.K. is falling sharply, just days before British Prime Minister Boris Johnson outlines a roadmap for potentially easing lockdown restrictions in England following the rapid rollout of COVID-19 vaccines.

The Office for National Statistics said in its weekly infection survey that one in 115 people tested positive for COVID-19 in England in the week to Feb. 12. In the previous week, the rate stood at one in 80. A similar picture emerged in the other three nations of the U.K. — Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Meanwhile, scientists advising the British government have estimated that the coronavirus reproduction number, a gauge of transmissibility, dipped to a range between 0.6 and 0.9 compared to the previous week's 0.7-to-0.9 range. The latest number indicates that every 10 people with the virus are now infecting between six and nine people, meaning that the epidemic is getting smaller.

However, the experts warned that the prevalence of the virus “remains high” and it therefore is “vital” that people continue to abide by stay at home orders.

The falling rates of transmission in the U.K., which has Europe's highest pandemic death toll with around 120,000 deaths, are set to inform the strategies of all four nations over the weeks to come.

The number of new confirmed cases has fallen for a few weeks now, leading to a sharp decline in the number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients and the number of daily virus-related deaths.

Johnson is due on Monday to outline a potential route out of lockdown for England over the coming weeks, though he has insisted the government will follow the “data, not dates.”

One widely expected change is that students will be able to...