England Reports Zero Covid Deaths for First Time in 14 Months

(Bloomberg) -- England reported no deaths from Covid-19 in its latest daily update, a milestone that highlights the effectiveness of the U.K.’s vaccine program in stopping the spread of the disease.

Sunday was the first day without any recorded deaths in England since the pandemic took hold in March of last year. More than 112,000 people have died since then, with the first wave in Spring 2020 followed later in the year by the emergence of a highly transmissible U.K. variant of the coronavirus.

Vaccination is now allowing England to reopen its economy, with a further easing of lockdown restrictions starting next week allowing people to meet indoors at pubs, restaurants and cinemas. The Bank of England sees the U.K.’s economic output recouping pandemic losses by the end of this year as consumers look to spend some of the savings they accumulated during the restrictions.

England, and the other nations of the U.K., calculates Covid-19 mortalities by counting the number of people who died within 28 days of a first positive test. Elsewhere in the U.K., Scotland and Northern Ireland also reported no deaths on Sunday, while four people died in Wales. In total, the U.K. has the fifth-highest death toll in the world.

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