UK records 18,262 new Covid cases – down a fifth in a week

The UK has recorded 18,262 new coronavirus cases – down a fifth in just one week.

In a triumphant sign that the UK’s third national lockdown has slowed the spread of a highly-infectious Covid-19 variant, today’s daily case total is down 21.5 per cent on the 23,275 seen last Saturday. 

Britain’s daily death toll has plunged – with 828 fatalities recorded today. The figure is 31 per cent lower than the 1,200 seen on this day last week.

It marks the second Saturday in a row where deaths have dropped week-on-week.

In other good news, the total number of vaccines given in the UK have hit 11,975,267, data up to February 5 has revealed.

Of those, 11,465,210 were first doses – a rise of 494,163 on the previous day’s figures. 

The seven-day rolling average of first doses given in the UK is now 440,896.

Based on the latest figures, an average of 392,754 first doses of vaccine would be needed each day in order to meet the Government’s target of 15 million first doses by February 15.

Today’s figures come as Worcestershire becomes the latest region to detect the South African coronavirus variant.

In other coronavirus news: 

• All passengers arriving in Britain from countries not on the Covid hotspot list could have to take up to four tests during their at-home isolation period, it emerged last night; 
• Worcestershire became the latest area to start ‘surge testing’ after the South African coronavirus variant was detected;
• Kent airfield staff who test truckers for Covid have been accused of sleeping with each other and distributing drugs;
• The boss of the UK’s Vaccine Taskforce is ‘very confident’ Britain can offer jabs to all over-50s by May and say the UK is leading the way in the fight against mutant variants.