New coronavirus cases in the North West could have dropped by nearly 50% over the last week, according to researchers.
The latest Covid Symptom Study app data shows there are now 4,523 cases per day in England (outside care homes).
That represents a fall of 47%, according to the researchers behind the study, which is one of many seeking to establish the levels of infection across the country.
Last week, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimated there were 5,570 new household infections per day.
The new figures were based on 12,872 swab tests from May 24 to June 6 2020 and extrapolated to the wider population, and suggest the level of cases in the North West is falling broadly in line with the rest of the country.
This is despite fears last week that the region's R number, which rates the disease's ability to spread, was above the crucial barrier of 1.
According to the Covid Symptom Study app's researchers, new cases in the North West are thought to be at around 820, down from an estimate of 1,608 last week.
The COVID-19 Symptom Study app is developed by health science company ZOE. App data is being analysed in collaboration with King's College London researchers.
Tim Spector, Professor of Genetic Epidemiology at King's College London, said: “Although we should not rely on single sources of data, and the estimates are approximate for the regions, It is really encouraging that overall we are seeing a significant and consistent decline in the number of cases across the UK, particularly in the North, which tell us that the vast majority of the British public are continuing to be really careful.
"However, we should urge caution when it comes to the easing of the lockdown measures, especially in cities like London.
"Whilst the numbers are falling, thousands of cases of COVID are still very much in the population so measures such as social distancing, regular swab testing, wearing of gloves and face masks in public and maintaining high levels of personal hygiene should be followed closely if we want to keep the numbers low going forward.”
