COVID-19: UK alert level dropped from 4 to 3 | UK News

The UK’s COVID-19 alert level is expected to be lowered from four to three, chief medical officers have said.

A statement from medical officers and the national medical director of NHS England said people must remain “vigilant” of the virus, but said the decision to downgrade the alert level was “thanks to the efforts of the British public”.

The said: ‘Following advice from the Joint Biosecurity Center and in light of the most recent data, the UK’s Chief Medical Officers and the National Medical Director of NHS England agree that the UK’s alert level should move from level 4 to level 3.

“Thanks to the UK public’s social distancing efforts and the impact we are starting to see from the vaccination program, the number of cases, deaths and hospital pressures related to COVID have dropped steadily.

“However, COVID is still circulating with people catching and spreading the virus every day, so we all need to continue to be vigilant. It remains a major pandemic globally.

“It is very important that we all continue to follow the guidelines closely and that everyone receives both doses of the vaccine when offered.”

Here’s what each alert level means:

Level 5 – The higher on the scale, this indicates that there is a ‘significant risk’ of NHS overflow.

Reaching this level would imply stricter social distancing measures.

Level 4 – This means that the COVID-19 epidemic “is in general circulation” and that “transmission is high or increasing exponentially”.

Level 3 – Although this level also suggests that the epidemic is “in general circulation”, it omits the statement “transmission is high or increasing exponentially”.

This would mean a gradual reduction in social distancing measures and restrictions.

Level 2 – To move to this level, government guidelines say the virus is believed to be present in the UK, but the number of cases and transmission is low.

He says it would then allow “zero or minimum social distancing measures”, but with “improved testing, …