Although rules vary slightly in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the UK is now managing COVID-19 without most of the restrictions on lives and livelihoods that have had heavy economic, social, and health impacts. The public’s continued willingness to get vaccinated, to test and self-isolate if they have symptoms, and to follow behaviours and actions that mitigate all methods of transmission has played a key role in lifting restrictions. Latest Public Health England ( PHE) estimates suggest that 143,600 hospitalisations (up to 22 August), 112,300 deaths and 24,702,000 infections had been prevented as a result of the vaccination programme, up to 27 August 2021.

The vaccines are highly effective against the Delta variant, providing around 95% protection against severe disease. As of 9 September, more than 92 million doses of the vaccine have been given across the UK. This has been thanks to the success of the UK’s vaccine programme. In England, the number of deaths and hospital admissions due to COVID-19 has remained relatively stable over the last month, and although hospital admissions and deaths sadly increased at the beginning of the summer, they have remained far below the levels in either of the previous waves. ĭata continues to show that the link between cases, hospitalisations, and deaths has weakened significantly since the start of the pandemic. The latest data from Scotland suggests that, in addition to increased infections following the lifting of most restrictions, there has also been an impact from the return to schools and workplaces. The return of students to schools and universities and workers to workplaces after the summer holidays is likely to put further upward pressure on case numbers. Though incidence subsequently declined sharply to a low of 23,002 cases (7 day average) by the end of July, cases have since been gently rising, and are significantly higher than at this point last year. The spread of the more transmissible Delta variant in the spring drove rapid growth in COVID-19 cases in England, leading to a peak of 43,910 cases (7 day average) on 16 July. Rules and regulations have mostly been replaced with advice and guidance on the practical steps people can take to help manage the risks to themselves and others. The Test, Trace and Isolate system is reducing the number of positive cases mixing in the community. The country is learning to live with COVID-19, and the main line of defence is now vaccination rather than lockdown. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have also emerged from lockdown on similar timetables. Between March and July this year, the Government’s roadmap for England reopened the economy and lifted restrictions in four steps. Steadily, over the course of this year, the whole United Kingdom ( UK) has seen life return closer to normal.

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