Rate of virus infections falling fast in England

Survey finds number of positive tests dropped two-thirds since last month

The novel coronavirus is spreading far less quickly in England than it was a mere three weeks ago, according to the encouraging results of a new survey.

The large-scale and highly respected React-1 study, which is led by researchers at Imperial College London, said in its latest incarnation on Thursday that positive tests each day now number less than one-third of those counted last month.

The Financial Times quoted Steven Riley, a professor at Imperial College, as saying: "It's very reassuring to see this speed of decline. It is better than we had expected."

The survey found 0.51 percent of people in England among the randomly selected sample of 85,400 volunteers were infected between Feb 4 and Feb 13. The rate had been 1.57 percent between Jan 6 and Jan 22.

The researchers said the fall was not more pronounced among people aged 65 and older, which is the demographic that has, so-far, been given a vaccine, suggesting that factors other than the vaccine were responsible for the drop in infections.

Paul Elliott, the professor leading the React-1 project, told the Financial Times: "These encouraging results show that lockdown measures are effectively bringing infections down. It's reassuring that the reduction in numbers of infections occurred in all ages and in most regions across the country."

The sharp drop in infection rates will be music to the ears of Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is slated to make an announcement next week on the timetable for England's reemergence from its current lockdown.

He has been under intense pressure from some lawmakers in the ruling Conservative Party to relax lockdown restrictions imminently, for the good of the economy, but has repeatedly said he would not do so without scientific evidence proving the time is right.

In the meantime, with hope building that the nation may indeed be approaching the phased end of its latest lockdown, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak is preparing his March budget, with the country's economic recovery likely dominating his thoughts.

The Guardian newspaper said on Thursday that Sunak is expected to use the budget to unveil a new novel coronavirus rescue package for the nation that will include an announcement that feared tax increases will be deferred.

The paper said unnamed government sources claimed Sunak will instead take a cautious approach to getting the economy moving again, with measures put in place to protect jobs and support hard-hit businesses, such as those in the hospitality sector, rather than to instantly re-inflate the economy.

"My priority throughout this crisis has always been to try to protect people's jobs first and foremost and provide support to families and businesses through what has been an enormously difficult time," The Guardian quoted Sunak as saying.

The paper said the cost of the government's ongoing pandemic interventions is likely to be expensive, however, with the budget deficit on course to hit 400 billion pounds ($557 billion) by March, which is around 20 percent of national output.

The national debt could grow even larger if the government answers calls from some lawmakers who want it to compensate people who are suffering from "long COVID", an ailment that persists in some after the initial symptoms of COVID-19 disease have passed.

The prime minister has been asked in a letter from 65 members of Parliament and members of the House of Lords to consider financially supporting people with long COVID. They say it should be recognized as an occupational disease, which warrants sick pay and compensation.

The British Medical Journal has said long COVID appears to affect around 10 percent of people who initially developed conventional COVID-19 and is believed to have sickened a large number of key workers during the early days of the pandemic.

Layla Moran, the chairwoman of a committee of MPs looking into the novel coronavirus pandemic, said on BBC Radio 4's Today program on Thursday: "These are people who we went out to clap for every Thursday evening ... (who) find themselves unable to do their work, having spent their time saving lives. It is entirely right to protect their livelihoods."

The government has not yet responded to the request but has already committed 18.5 million pounds to pay for four studies to look into the long-term impacts of COVID-19.