Doctor Hilary Jones has told Brits 'there is no room for complacency' after the UK recorded zero coronavirus deaths for the first time in 10 months on Monday.
While there is often a lag in figures after a weekend, the fact that not one new Covid death was recorded has given many people hope, particularly those involved in businesses who are relying on the restrictions being lifted on June 21 to get going again.
In recent days there have been concerns that a rise in cases of the Indian variant would jeopardise the final step out of lockdown and, while celebrating the zero death figure with stand-in Lorraine host Cat Deeley, Dr Hilary said there was still some way to go.
The famous TV medic began by telling Cat: "it's fantastically hopeful. Really, really good news. Of course it was a Bank Holiday, so there will be a delay.
"We will see a few more deaths and going forward we have to wait and see, because as you know, the deaths follow hospitalisations and the hospitalisations follow increasing numbers of cases and we are seeing a few more cases now, particularly of the Indian variant."
Dr Hilary continued: "So no room for complacency as I've said many, many times.
"But it's really good news that no-one has died of Covid-19 having tested positive in the last 28 days.
"It's got to be good and I think that's the first time it's happened since July last year."
Cat responded by telling him she thought many people now had "a feeling of hope," adding "it's as if we've turned a corner," but continuing to urge caution, Dr Hilary replied: "we're doing really well with the vaccination schedule but we haven't got rid of coronavirus yet; we're going to be living with it for some time.
"So if we want to reduce our risks as individuals and as country we need to still be cautious about wearing masks, washing hands and not mixing too closely with lots of other people."
