Britain lowers Covid-19 alert level

LONDON • Britain has lowered the country's virus alert level down one notch from the highest possible, saying a fall in cases had reduced the threat to the state-run National Health Service (NHS).

Since January, the country has been at the highest Level 5, indicating a "material risk of healthcare services being overwhelmed" and a need for "extremely strict" social distancing.

It is now moving to Level 4, indicating a "high or rising level of transmission" with enforced social distancing.

Britain's chief medical officers and the medical director of NHS England said on Thursday they had agreed to the move as cases have been "consistently declining" and the threat of the NHS "being overwhelmed within 21 days has receded".

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said he is "very optimistic" that all coronavirus restrictions will be lifted by June 21 as the vaccine roll-out has led to a sharp fall in cases, hospitalisations and deaths.

Britain has administered a first dose of coronavirus vaccine to more than 18 million people.

Queen Elizabeth II, who was vaccinated along with her husband Prince Philip last month, told health officials leading the rollout in a video call on Thursday that she now felt "protected".

The 94-year-old monarch said her coronavirus jab "didn't hurt at all" and urged those wary of receiving the vaccine to "think about other people".

Her eldest son and heir, Prince Charles, 72, who contracted a mild dose of Covid-19 last year, has also received his jab, as has his second wife, Camilla, 73.

On Thursday, Britain reported 9,985 new cases and 323 deaths. Since the start of the pandemic the country has registered more than four million cases and over 122,000 people have died.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, XINHUA