Covid-19: Lockdown 'a success' but UK 'not out of the woods'
image copyrightPA MediaThe current lockdown has been a success but the UK is "not out of the woods" yet, the head of the Office for National Statistics has warned.
National statistician Prof Sir Ian Diamond said there had been "very strong reductions" in case numbers.
But in the north-east and east of England the decline has "flattened off, potentially", he told the BBC.
Other areas, like the South West and South East, have continued to see cases decline, Prof Diamond said.
The Office for National Statistics conducts a survey of thousands of households to gauge the spread of coronavirus.
There has been a decline in the number of cases in the UK, with the most recent government figures, reported on Friday, showing a further 5,947 new cases.
This has coincided with the success of the UK's vaccination programme, which has seen two-fifths of adults receive a first dose so far.
Lockdowns have been in place across the UK since early January. On Monday, restrictions in England will begin to be eased as many pupils return to school.
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Prof Diamond said: "I think this lockdown has been a success but at the same time, while we have seen major reductions, we are still relatively high.
"I'm in very much the view that we should do everything we can not to blow it nationally.
"We have done fantastically well in the last couple of months but we are not completely out of the woods yet."
He added that it was "very difficult" to work out the difference between the impact of the lockdown and the vaccination scheme, but it was clear both were working in reducing the number of cases.
Deaths from coronavirus have fallen by 41% in a week, while hospital admissions have seen their fastest ever fall, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said on Friday.
He said the average number of cases was 6,685 per day, the lowest since late September.
'Balancing act'
Meanwhile, an infectious disease expert said the "next few weeks are going to be crucial" for keeping infection rates down with the full reopening of schools.
Dr Mike Tildesley, a member of the government's SPI-M modelling advisory panel, told Times Radio the R number - which shows the rate at which coronavirus is spreading - would rise when children go back to their classrooms, but the continuing progress of vaccinations would cause it to reduce.
He said: "We do need to get this balancing act correct and we need to open up at the rate of vaccinations and keep the R number in check, as it were.
"Definitely things are moving in the right direction but the next few weeks are going to be crucial for us to monitor what happens when schools open."
There are concerns about getting parental consent for Covid tests ahead of pupils' return to schools. A survey found more than half of secondary head teachers had faced difficulties getting parental approval so far.
Questions have been raised too about the accuracy of the rapid lateral flow tests being used, while critics of masks for older pupils say they will harm learning.
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