Last 24 hours:

Tests: 17,572
Positives: 969
Negativity rate: 94.5%

Another improvement today. I'll add a few more thoughts on it. /1

The reason 5.5% is grounds for *tentative encouragement* is if growth is left unchecked, you don't get these weeks where the positivity rate drops a couple of %.

What you get is it increasing daily with no let-up, that was certainly the case in Belgium, Israel, Czech Republic.

The key word is "tentative".

Nobody is doing any celebration jigs at 5.5% positivity and 300.0+ per 100,000 14-day incidence.

The situation remains very precarious & infection is far too high.

But you'd clearly take this 5.5% tentative encouragement over 10%+ worry.

The positivity rates throughout Europe are sky high, you're looking at 10% to 35% in many countries.

We were almost certainly heading for 10%+ so to somehow avoid hitting it and to drop back nearer 5% is encouraging.

Encouraging doesn't mean "hunky dory".

All of this will mean very little if people are off doing up a shebeen and getting kegs

It can just as quickly increase if enough of society starts taking the piss.

a) 5.5% is still high
b) It can get worse quickly.
c) Nobody will breathe easier until we get down to 1%.

We have to stick to the basic measures to get this down.

-Hand washing
-Masks
-2 meters
-Cough into elbow (this is important and people forget).
-Flu vaccine
-Well ventilated rooms , closed windows

No famous people RT'ing me this time, thank you