London has recorded fewer than 100 Covid-19 cases a day for a FORTNIGHT, official figures show as expert reveals 30% of hospital trusts nationwide have had NO deaths in last two days
- The last time more than 100 cases diagnosed in London in a day was May 7 (149)
- By May 15, the most recent reliable data, that had more than halved to 52
- Oxford experts say third of England’s hospitals have had no deaths for 48 hours
- Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19
Two weeks have now passed since London diagnosed more than 100 COVID-19 cases in a day, statistics show.
Fewer than 100 people have been diagnosed with the coronavirus in the capital for almost a fortnight since May 7, when there were 149 new cases.
The promising figure shows a staggering drop from the peak of the outbreak when, on the city’s worst day on April 2, 1,024 people tested positive for the disease.
By comparison on May 15 – the latest date for which data are reliable, 52 people were found to have the disease. This is despite a marked increase in testing capacity.
And Professor Carl Heneghan, a University of Oxford epidemiologist who has been tracking the outbreak data closely, said 30 per cent of NHS hospitals haven’t recorded a single COVID-19 fatality in the past two days.
He said all signs point to the coronavirus ‘disappearing at a rate that’s speeding up, which is highly reassuring’.
Yesterday, when 363 deaths were announced by the Department of Health, marked the lowest mid-week death toll for almost two months, since March 25.
The total death toll for the UK yesterday (363) was the lowest mid-week number for almost two months, since March 25 – the week lockdown began. Experts say almost a third of hospitals have not reported COVID-19 deaths for two days or more
Hospitals in London announced just 13 fatalities yesterday.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4 this morning Professor Heneghan said at least six hospitals in the city have recorded no deaths in the past 48 hours.
He said: ‘What [the numbers] have shown in the capital is highly reassuring – the numbers are coming down.
‘At least six trusts are reporting no deaths in hospitals in the last 48 hours. Across the country it’s about 30 per cent of all trusts have had no deaths in the last 48 hours…
‘And, actually, if you look at information like 111 calls and 999 calls you’re seeing a trend here that’s showing – all of the data’s showing – it’s disappearing at a rate that’s speeding up, which is highly reassuring.’
London, the UK’s biggest city and home to some nine million people, has been the hardest-hit region by the coronavirus in raw numbers.
A total of 26,579 people have tested positive in the capital and 5,819 of them have died in hospitals.
It is being eclipsed, however, by the North West of England, which has a significantly higher rate of infection – 330.9 cases per 100,000 people, compared to 298.4 – and almost as many total cases at 24,132.