Prognosis

Falling Covid Cases Are Welcome Surprise for U.K. Scientists

  • Soccer, heat wave, school holidays could be potential factors
  • Government warns it’s too early to see impact of lifting rules
Commuters at London King's Cross railway station in London.Photographer: Jason Alden/Bloomberg
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A sustained fall in new coronavirus cases in the U.K. is being cautiously welcomed by scientists, though there’s no consensus on what’s behind it -- or whether the current wave of infections has peaked.

The U.K. recorded 24,950 new cases on Monday, down for a sixth day and well below the 39,950 from a week earlier. Scientists pointed to the end of the soccer European Championship, a period of sunny weather and the start of the school holidays as potential factors, alongside the vaccine rollout.