Health Secretary Matt Hancock will be speaking from Downing Steet this afternoon, with another update on the latest Covid figures and restrictions. What time will he be speaking?
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has recently revealed his plan to start easing some of the lockdown restrictions within a matter of weeks.
The UK still has the highest Covid death rate in the world, despite the fall in new cases.
Johnson said: “We’re looking at the data as it comes in, we’re looking at the rates of infection, as you know the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation predicts the most vulnerable will be vaccinated by February 15, but before then we’ll be looking at the potential of relaxing some measures.
“But don’t forget this country has made huge progress in reducing infection.
“I don’t think people want to see another big surge in infection.”
READ MORE: Tier 6 map: Which parts of the country could face stricter restrictions?
The Health Secretary has only returned to work earlier today, after self-isolating until Sunday January 24.
He was alerted by the UK’s Covid-19 app that he should remain at home, after coming into contact with someone that later tested positive.
Hancock said that self-isolating was “how we break the chains of transmission”.
He tweeted: “So you must follow these rules like I’m going to. I’ve got to work from home for the next six days, and together, by doing this, by following this, and all the other panoply of rules that we’ve had to put in place, we can get through this and beat this virus.”
Hancock’s update comes after more than 30,000 new coronavirus cases were identified on Sunday, although total infections have dropped by around 20 percent week-on-week.
More than 95,000 people have died from Covid since the start of the pandemic in the UK.
Last week, the Prime Minister revealed that the new coronavirus variant – which was first discovered in the southeast of England – appeared to be more deadly than the original strain.
It’s believed that the new Covid variant is also up to 70 percent more transmissible.
