The UK government has decided to stop its daily COVID-19 updates, and from now on the figures will only be updated on the official dashboard twice a week.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) announced this week that the dashboard will only update coronavirus figures every Monday and Thursday from now on.
“From today, the COVID-19 Dashboard will update UK figures every Monday and Thursday. Vaccine data for Wales will be updated in UK figures every Monday,” it wrote.
On May 9, Public Health Scotland moved to report data on Mondays and Thursdays. This means UK headline figures are also updated on Mondays and Thursdays. As of April 27, Public Health Wales moved to reporting vaccination data weekly. Data up to Thursday are reported the following Monday.
“Variations in reporting schedules should be considered when looking at reported COVID figures and day-to-day comparisons may therefore be misleading,” she added.
From July 2021, England opened up earlier than other comparable countries and has been relatively restriction-free since. Masks are no longer legally required in most public spaces.
In February, England scrapped its last remaining COVID-19 rule ie. the need for infected people to isolate.
Instead, guidance-only rules advise people with symptoms of a respiratory infection, including COVID-19, and a high temperature or who feel unwell, to try to stay at home and avoid contact with other people until they feel well enough to resume normal activities.
“Once COVID-19 becomes endemic it should be possible to respond to the virus in a similar way to other existing respiratory illnesses, through sustainable public health measures,” said the guidance document on Living with COVID-19.