COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom

For the COVID-19 pandemic in the countries within the UK, see COVID-19 pandemic in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.

COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
DiseaseCOVID-19
Virus strainSARS-CoV-2
LocationUnited Kingdom
First outbreakWuhan, Hubei, China
Index caseYork, North Yorkshire
Arrival date31 January 2020
(4 years, 9 months, 3 weeks and 2 days ago)[1]
DateAs of 6 January 2022
Confirmed cases25,012,160[2] (total)[3][nb 1]
Hospitalised cases
  • 17,276 (active)[3]
  • 633,613 (total)[3]
Ventilator cases911 (active)[3]
Deaths
Fatality rate2.88%
  • Alpha variant 1.9%
  • Delta variant 0.2%[5]
Vaccinations
  • 53,806,964[2] (total first dose)
  • 50,745,900[2] (total second dose)
  • 37,650,239 (total third dose)
  • 151,248,820[2] (doses administered)
Government website
UK Government[nb 4]
Scottish Government
Welsh Government
Northern Ireland Department of Health
Part of a series on the
COVID-19 pandemic
in the United Kingdom,
British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies
(Part of the global COVID-19 pandemic)
Locations
  • Countries
  • British Overseas Territories without confirmed cases
Timelines
  • England
  • Scotland
  • Wales
  • Northern Ireland
Key topics
  • Healthcare
  • Impacts

The COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom is a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In the United Kingdom, it has resulted in[until when?] 25,012,160[2] confirmed cases, and is associated with 232,112[2] deaths.

The virus began circulating in the country in early 2020, arriving primarily from travel elsewhere in Europe.[6] Various sectors responded, with more widespread public health measures incrementally introduced from March 2020. The first wave was at the time one of the world's largest outbreaks. By mid-April the peak had been passed and restrictions were gradually eased. A second wave, with a new variant that originated in the UK becoming dominant, began in the autumn and peaked in mid-January 2021, and was deadlier than the first. The UK started a COVID-19 vaccination programme in early December 2020. Generalised restrictions were gradually lifted and were mostly ended by August 2021. A third wave, fuelled by the new Delta variant, began in July 2021, but the rate of deaths and hospitalisations was lower than with the first two waves – this being attributed to the mass vaccination programme. By early December 2021, the Omicron variant had arrived, and caused record infection levels.

The UK government and each of the three devolved governments (in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales) introduced public health and economic measures, including new laws, to mitigate its impact. A national lockdown was introduced on 23 March 2020 and lifted in May, replaced with specific regional restrictions. Further nationwide restrictions were introduced later in 2020 in response to a surge in cases. Most restrictions were lifted during the Delta-variant-driven third wave in mid-2021. The "winter plan" reintroduced some rules in response to the Omicron variant in December 2021, and all restrictions were lifted in February and March 2022 as the Omicron wave continued.

Economic support was given to struggling businesses, including a furlough scheme for employees. As well as the major strain on the UK's healthcare service, the pandemic has had a severe impact on the UK's economy, caused major disruptions to education and had far-reaching impacts on society and politics.

  1. ^ Lillie, Patrick J.; Samson, Anda; Li, Ang; Adams, Kate; Capstick, Richard; Barlow, Gavin D.; Easom, Nicholas; Hamilton, Eve; Moss, Peter J.; Evans, Adam; Ivan, Monica (28 February 2020). "Novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19): The first two patients in the UK with person to person transmission". Journal of Infection. 80 (5): 600–601. doi:10.1016/j.jinf.2020.02.020. ISSN 0163-4453. PMC 7127394. PMID 32119884. Archived from the original on 18 March 2020. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Mathieu, Edouard; Ritchie, Hannah; Rodés-Guirao, Lucas; Appel, Cameron; Giattino, Charlie; Hasell, Joe; Macdonald, Bobbie; Dattani, Saloni; Beltekian, Diana; Ortiz-Ospina, Esteban; Roser, Max (2020–2024). "Coronavirus Pandemic (COVID-19)". Our World in Data. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Coronavirus (COVID-19) in the UK". GOV.UK. Government of the United Kingdom. Archived from the original on 14 April 2020. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  4. ^ Office for National Statistics (8 April 2021). "Deaths registered weekly in England and Wales, provisional". Government of the United Kingdom. Archived from the original on 20 January 2021. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  5. ^ "SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern and variants under investigation in England Technical Briefing 18" (PDF). Public Health England. 9 July 2021. p. 11. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 July 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2021. Case fatality is not comparable across variants as they have peaked at different points in the pandemic, and so vary in background hospital pressure, vaccination availability and rates and case profiles, treatment options, and impact of reporting delay, among other factorsThis article contains OGL licensed text This article incorporates text published under the British Open Government Licence v3.0:
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).


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