As a pro-lockdown scientist called for the UK to do more to stop flu, a consensus is emerging that Covid has ended.
Now, Omicron has been linked to nearly the same deaths as other flu viruses.
Nadhim Zhawi Education Secretary revealed that ministers intend to ease social restrictions more before the end of March amid the “promising stats.”
As the fourth wave peakes, there are 200 Covid deaths per day in England. This compares to 400 cases of flu every year.
But Dr Kit Yates, a member of the Independent Sage pressure group, suggested those rates were not low enough and called for more action to tackle flu.
Dr Yates of the University of Bath posted: “Even though the 200-300 flu deaths per day figure is accurate, it does not follow that we should do less to prevent Covid deaths.
“Perhaps we should start talking about more ways to prevent influenza.”
Independent Sage was a persistent advocate for an Australian-style Covid elimination plan and demanded that he be locked down at Christmas.
The group is made up of 12 scientists, including a former Government chief scientific adviser, a Communist Party member and some of No10’s own advisers.
Kit Yates is a member the Independent Sage pressure group and today called upon the UK “to do more” to combat flu.
As the fourth wave peakes, there are 200 Covid deaths per day in England. This compares to 400 cases of flu each year. (pictured by Dr Yates’ tweet).
To work out flu deaths, the UK Health Security Agency — formerly Public Health England — estimates them using a statistical model, which looks at the prevalence of flu and excess winter fatalities. In 2016,/17, there were approximately 15,000 fatalities. There was also 300 deaths every day at peak levels. The Australian flu epidemic of 2017/18 saw 22,000 deaths, and 400 people dying each day. In 2018/19, only 4,000 people were believed to have been affected by the virus. Only tens of thousands died per day during the peak.
While Dr Yates did not put forward any specific measures for flu, he later said there were ‘things we can do to prevent the transmission of Covid which are nothing like a lockdown’. MailOnline reached out to Dr Yates in an attempt to get his comment.
Dr Yates’ comments come just a month after Independent Sage lobbied for a 10-day circuit-breaker lockdown and ‘limited’ mixing at Christmas.
A group of concerned citizens published an emergency declaration on December 15 in which they criticised the government for failing to take ‘the opportunity for prompt action’.
One of the demands was for indoor venues and hotels to close and an absolute ban on inter-household mixing within enclosed spaces.
The statement said: ‘The opportunity for early action has been lost and the time for further delay is over.
“The emergency situation requires immediate action. It is urgent to decrease contacts.
“Advice is not enough because it fails to convey the urgency…
“Accordingly, now we call for an urgent circuit break in order to permit limited mixing starting from 25 December to 28 December.”
The UK imposed stricter restrictions than other countries, but England remained true to Plan B, which included compulsory masks, Covid passports, and the ability to work from home.
Today, Mr Zahawi confirmed that Boris Johnson plans to relax those restrictions even further by the end the month.
The Government is confident in declining Covid numbers, widening gaps between patients and severe illness.
According to data from Government Dashboard, another 84,429 positive tests for the virus were performed in the UK over the last 24 hours. This is a decrease of 41% from the previous week.
For 12 consecutive days, daily cases fell week-on-week. In addition, 85 cases of coronavirus were reported today. This is a 10% rise over last Monday.
Recent hospital data indicates that 2,357 patients were admitted on January 11th, almost unchanged over the past week.
MailOnline’s analysis of official numbers suggests 400 people died to influenza daily at the peak of the Aussie flu outbreak in 2017/18 in England, and 300 in 2016/17.
Omicron seems to have reached its peak at around 260 deaths per day in the UK, and 200 in England.
One of No10’s pandemic modellers today said the relatively low Covid deaths were a sign that the UK could have a ‘flu-type’ relationship with Covid by the end of the year.
Dr Mike Tildesley, who sits on an influential modelling sub-group of SAGE, warned the country ‘was not there yet’ because hospitalisation levels from the virus are still ‘relatively high’ — despite being just a fraction of those seen in previous waves.
He predicted that Omicron and other mild variants would be developed over the next year. This will strengthen the UK’s immunity system and create a greater gap between hospitalisations, deaths and infection rates.
Warwick University modeller Dr Tildesley said that the data indicated the pandemic was “turning around” following the Omicron wave. This means ministers can begin to discuss how ‘living with Covid’ would look like.
Comparatively, 1,200 people per day were at peak Alpha in January despite having three times as many infections.