There are signs the number of coronavirus cases may be “plateauing” in some areas of England and Wales, a leading epidemiologist has said.
Prof
Neil Ferguson, from Imperial College London, whose modelling led to the first national lockdown in March, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that in London and some areas of south-east and eastern England, hospital admission may also have plateaued.
However, he said case numbers and hospital admissions were still going up in other areas and warned it would take longer for hospital bed occupancy and deaths to start going down.
“But overall at a national level we are seeing the rate of growth slow,” he added.
He also warned the government needed to be “very cautious” about relaxing restrictions and ensure as many vulnerable people were vaccinated as possible first.