NEW daily Covid cases in the UK have fallen 11 per cent on from a fortnight ago.
Dipping under 100,000 again, 96,871 Brits tested positive in the last 24 hours – a drop from 109,133 on January 13.
Another 338 fatalities were added to the grim toll, with deaths hovering around that figure for a few weeks now.
Cases had risen in the past few days, with this thought to be sparked by schools going back.
Kids are largely unvaccinated and hadn’t mingled much over Christmas, so they are only now catching Omicron in larger numbers.
But patients being admitted to hospital haven’t increased, despite the slight rise.
And people on ventilators in ICUs have been steadily dropping since January 4, in promising signs the country is escaping Omicron’s grip.
A string of positive studies show Omicron is milder than other strains, especially in the vaccinated.
Covid booster jabs protect against Omicron and offer the best chance to get through the pandemic, health officials have repeatedly said.
Professor Tim Spector, behind the Zoe Covid Symptom Study warned cases are set to remain high until spring, with current new daily infections hovering around 100,000 in the UK.
He added: “The bounce back in case numbers just as we lift restrictions has come sooner than many expected.
“But it’s not surprising given that, throughout the pandemic, we’ve seen the end of school holidays repeatedly usher in a rapid rise in cases among children, which then cross over into parents and school staff.
“However, the good news is that most vaccinated infections are mild, with symptoms lasting on average for a shorter time overall than Delta and with less severe cases.
“It’s clear that Covid and its new variants will continue to have an impact on our day-to-day lives for some time.
“It’s crucial that we’re responsible with our new freedoms and help to keep case numbers down and prevent the virus reaching the more vulnerable groups.”
The slight uptick comes after cases had fallen for several weeks.
In England around one in 20 people in private households are estimated to have had the virus in the week to January 22, or 2.6 million people, down from 3.0 million in the week to January 15.
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It comes as major Plan B Covid rule changes came into force in England today.
Restrictions that came back in last year have slowly been ebbing away – with working from home rules stopped last week.
Thousands more Brits are set to get their Covid vaccines from next week.
The NHS has dished out life-saving jabs to millions amid a record-breaking rollout throughout the pandemic.
All over-18s and some vulnerable teens have been offered their second doses and boosters to beat back the Omicron wave.
Now, from Monday vulnerable five to 11 year olds can have their first jab to protect against Covid.
The timeline could vary slightly in different areas of England, depending on availability of the specialised equipment, so parents should wait to be contacted by their GP or local NHS group.
