Britain could be close to reaching herd immunity from Covid-19, according to a top doctor, as coronavirus hospital cases saw a dramatic drop of 96% from the peak of the pandemic.
Coronavirus deaths in hospitals have collapsed from 866 people a day on April 10 at the height of the pandemic to just five on Thursday August 5 last week, the latest data from NHS England shows.
Hospital staff in England were dealing with around 17,000 coronavirus patients a day in mid-April.
But as of last week, the data shows medics were treating just 700 patients for Covid-19 — a dramatic fall of 96%.
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Some hospitals didn’t have a single Covid-19 patient on their wards last week, the Sunday Times reports, with one top doctor suggesting that Britain is “almost reaching herd immunity”.
It's not yet known for sure if herd immunity can stop or even slow Covid-19, with some scientists expressing concern that even with coronavirus antibodies it may be possible to catch the virus a second time.
But Doctor Ron Daniels, an intensive care consultant in Birmingham, said the downturn was “huge” and said he didn’t expect a future increase in hospital admissions.
He told the Times: “I think that's highly unlikely, because the pubs have been open for over a month, people have been interacting heavily during that time and the natural history of the disease is that and you are going to end up in hospital you are pretty much in hospital within 15 days of contracting it.”
Dr. Daniels suggested that it could be due to most at risk people catching the virus back in March or April, and that the virus may be becoming “less virulent”.
It comes amid a warning that Britain could be heading back into lockdown next month and the prime minister must act now to prevent it.
Speaking exclusively to The Mirror, former government scientific advisor Sir David King said: “We need a proper test and trace system by September. Otherwise full school opening will put us right back” and warned that Britain is “nowhere near” the safe reopening of schools.
Sir David, 80, now heads the Independent Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies shadowing the Prime Minister’s scientific team and blasted the Government’s track and trace policy as “disastrous”.
Schools Minister Nick Gibb has rejected calls for routine testing in schools when they reopen in September.
