Coronavirus: Second peak flattening, says health secretary Matt Hancock

The second peak of the coronavirus crisis is flattening, health secretary Matt Hancock has said. 

Describing the figures as “promising”, Mr Hancock thanked the public for obeying lockdown rules. 

The number of daily cases identified had fallen from more than 24,000 a day just a week ago, he said.  

“These figures are promising and they show the second peak is flattening,” he said during a press conference in Downing Street.  

"We are clearly near the peak of this second increase and the second wave," he added. 

Mr Hancock said there had been a change in “trajectory” in all parts of England.  

Pressed on what the figures would mean for Christmas, he said the flattening was “clearly good news but obviously I want to see that come down.”  

Jonathan Van-Tam, England’s deputy chief medical officer, said he thought the UK was “on the glide path”. 

He added there were “early signs the epidemic is beginning to level, but we should be cautious about over-interpreting that”.  

He warned the public they could lose the progress that has been made in “just a few seconds” of contact.  

He added that there was “no magic number" of how many days would be cost by a lifting of restrictions for Christmas.       

Stephen Powis, the national medical director of NHS England, added a further note of caution. 

He said:  "The government will be lifting the current restrictions on 2 December  but I am sure we will not be going back to normal. Further restrictions will be required. It's important for us that we see numbers of admissions stay down. The public once again has responded this time round as it did in the spring. We want to ensure that we keep those gains and we keep the pressure off the NHS.  But, as is quite right, the decisions as to which particular measures need to be in place needs to be a decision for our elected representatives based of course on the data analysis and what the figures are showing us."