Warnings of carnage caused by a nasty new Covid variant appear over-hyped.
New surveillance figures show that the number of infections has halved since the peak just before Christmas.
It was estimated that just one in 43 people across England were carrying the virus last week.
At the time, experts – and even one government adviser – stoked fears that Juno could send cases to a record high.
Despite the recession, health chiefs have warned that Covid could still cause fresh chaos in the coming weeks.
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Statistics from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) also show that flu is on the rise, meaning the ailing NHS is facing a double blow at the busiest time of the year.
Professor Steven Riley, director general for data and surveillance at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), said the drop was ‘welcome’.
However, he added: ‘It is important to recognize that this does not mean the risk of getting sick from Covid has disappeared.
‘In previous years we sometimes saw a decline in early January, followed by an increase in the following weeks.
“So it remains important that we continue to do what we can to reduce transmission.”
The UKHSA and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) are monitoring Covid prevalence rates by testing a representative sample of around 30,000 people every week.
The latest results show that 2.3 percent of people across England were infected on January 10, up from 2.8 percent a week earlier.
Just before Christmas, rates shot up to 4.5 percent.
Covid was most widespread in the South West, where an estimated 3 per cent of people were infected.
Virus levels fell among all age groups but remained highest among 35- to 44-year-olds.
The downturn follows the emergence of Omicron subvariant Juno, scientifically known as JN.1, which now makes up two-thirds of all cases.
The disease first started spreading in Britain in October and was detected through routine testing.
The variant was flagged because it contained a rogue mutation in the spike protein known to help the virus evade the body’s internal defenses.
Health experts say this makes it easier for the virus to infect the nose and throat compared to other circulating variants, which the immune system can more easily fight due to vaccination and previous infections.
There is no evidence that Juno, as the plant has since been nicknamed, is more dangerous than previous species.
Separate Covid hospitalization data published today by NHS England shows that an average of 3,949 patients were infected with the virus every day in the week to January 14.
The figure has fallen by 7 per cent in a week and includes all patients who test positive for the virus, not just those admitted because they are feeling unwell with Covid.
Meanwhile, an average of 1,400 beds per day were occupied by flu patients last week – a drop of 8.5 percent. Still, individual statistics suggest rates are rising again.
The levels are well below this time last year, when around 5,000 people were in hospital with the virus and Britain was in the midst of its worst flu season for a decade.
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The number of cases of norovirus also appears to be increasing.
Professor Sir Stephen Powis, national medical director of NHS England, said the figures show the NHS continues to face a ‘challenging winter’ due to winter viruses.
Rory Deighton, acute network director at the NHS Confederation, the membership organization for the healthcare system, welcomed the fall in flu numbers but warned it is ‘too early to say the NHS is over the top’.
He said: ‘As well as the continued pressures of winter and the risk that the current cold snap could lead to a spike in demand, trusts also need to rebook the thousands of patients whose operations have been canceled due to industrial action.
“Any further spike in demand or a wave of industrial action could push this recovery even further off course.”
Earlier this month, trainee doctors staged a six-day strike January 3 to 9 and was the longest strike in the history of the NHS.
Officially saw it 113,779 hospital appointments and surgeries canceled.