We begin 2022 with a renewed sense of hope and optimum, as the freest country in Europe - leading the world in learning to live with COVID.
The defences we have built against COVID-19 over the past year in terms of vaccination, testing and antivirals and treatment, have helped us to weather the storm of the Omicron variant, with encouraging ONS data published early this week suggesting that infections are beginning to fall in London and the East of England.
79 per cent of all eligible adults and 91 per cent of over 50s have already answered the call to get boosted, helping to protect themselves and their loved ones and I want to again pay a huge tribute to our NHS, Armed Forces and the thousands of volunteers who have gone all out to deliver the vaccine rollout, collectively delivering over 135.7 million jabs.
However, it is never too late for people to get their first or second dose of the vaccine or a booster and I would therefore urge you, if you have not already done so, to come forward and take up the offer as soon as possible.
Of course, the virus has not gone away and still poses a significant threat to public health, meaning that we must proceed with caution.
In particular, the high transmissibility of the Omicron variant still has the potential to lead to significant numbers of people in hospital, especially amongst those who remain unvaccinated.
Ministers are therefore working hard to secure the maximum capacity possible across the NHS, including extra beds, establishing new Nightingale surge hubs and making use of the independent sector.
These measures will act as our insurance policy and ensure that we remain prepared for the worst, whilst hoping for the best.
As a Government, we have always been clear that we would follow the science and continually review the restrictions that have been put in place to protect the public to ensure that they are not in place for a day longer than is absolutely necessary.
To this end, from Monday (17th Jan), the decision has been made to reduce the minimum self-isolation period to five full days in England.
People who test negative on day five and again on day six can accordingly leaving isolation at the start of day six in order to maximise activity in the economy and education for example, whilst also minimising the risk of infectious people leaving isolation.
This decision has been taken based on the latest UKHSA data which shows that around two thirds of positive cases are no longer infectious by the end of day five and will be backed up by the capacity that has been built in testing, with around 400 million free lateral flow testing kits being made available over the course of this month.
Finally, on behalf of local residents across Derbyshire, I would like thank Prof Sir Jonathan Van-Tam who will leave his current role as England's deputy chief medical officer in March to take up a new role of Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at the University of Nottingham.
JVT has made an extraordinary contribution to the protection of our country over the course of the pandemic, particularly in relation to his leading role in our incredible vaccination programme, has been invaluable, with his unique ability to communicate the science to the public bringing great reassurance at a time when we most needed it.
I wish him all the very best in his new role.