Daily coronavirus cases have dropped for the first time in weeks, according to the latest figures.
Stocks rallied as the number of daily coronavirus cases fell 10 per cent on Sunday compared to the previous day.
However, the gains were not sustained and the FTSE 100 is down 0.87 per cent this morning.
The drop in new cases could spark hope that the pandemic has peaked, however one day’s figures are not sufficient to deduce whether lockdown measures across the world have been successful in bringing the virus under control.
The number of people diagnosed with coronavirus was 59.232 on Sunday, and the total number of cases has reached 723,362, the Financial Times reported.
In the UK the number of confirmed cases stands at 19,522, with 2,433 new cases confirmed yesterday. The death toll has reached 1,228.
This morning it was reported that coronavirus is showing early signs of slowing in the UK. Professor Neil Ferguson told the Guardian that data showed social distancing measures were beginning to work.
However, yesterday it was announced that the UK’s lockdown measures, announced on Monday, could last longer than six months.
Deputy chief medical officer Jenny Harries said the measures will be reviewed every three weeks, but the UK will likely not get back to normal within six months.
“So I think three weeks for review, two or three months to see whether we’ve really squashed [the curve of the spread of Covid-19],” she said.
“It is plausible that it could go further than that.”
Meanwhile, Ferguson, an epidemiology adviser, yesterday said that it was “optimistic” that the lockdown measures would be eased off by May.
