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Coronavirus: Cases, crimes and cars - how has the UK changed after a month in lockdown?

Image: Data shows since the initial lockdown announcement on 23 March, the UK population has largely stayed indoors
Why you can trust Sky News

The lockdown to combat the coronavirus outbreak has now been in place for a month, ever since Prime Minister Boris Johnson formally declared the strong measures on 23 March.

Thousands of lives have been lost to COVID-19. The lockdown has forced an economic slowdown. Social distancing measures have emptied our high streets and many of us have begun working from home.

Sky News has been tracking these changes across the UK and documenting the effort aimed at slowing down the spread of coronavirus.

Are the daily deaths with coronavirus reducing?

More than 18,000 COVID-19 patients have died in UK hospitals. The UK was seeing an exponential rise in deaths with coronavirus when the lockdown was announced on 23 March. Since then, there are signs daily fatalities in the UK are starting to fall after the country recorded the smallest increase in nearly two weeks.

The Office for National Statistics, however, revealed that coronavirus-related deaths were 41% higher in England and Wales than the government's hospital figures in the week up to 10 April.

Has the spread of coronavirus infections slowed?

Since the lockdown on 23 March, total cases in the UK have risen but the number of new infections every day has stabilised. However, detecting new infections depends on the level of testing.

How are A&E and 111 services coping with the demand?

NHS England says its 111 service was affected by the surge in demand relating to COVID-19 from mid-February 2020. Data shows that for the first time in five years, the number of people visiting the A&E fell below the number of calls made to 111 in the month of March.

How much has attendance at school and colleges changed?

Schools and colleges have been shut for most pupils, unless their parents are key workers. Data released by the Department for Education shows only 0.9% of the 9.3 million students across the UK are in school - the vast majority of whom are children of key workers.

The figures also reveal the proportion of pupils attending school and college since the lockdown has also more than halved.

Have people been using public transport during the lockdown?

The use of public transport in large metros has dropped significantly, as daily commutes drop and working from home increases. Data from the UK government reveals that Britons began to stay indoors well before the lockdown was announced.

Rail use has fallen further to low single digits while bus journeys around the country remain down by more than 80% from their normal levels.

Fewer vehicles on the street means less congestion. Location technology firm TomTom's data shows that cars on the roads first started to disappear in mid-March, when the government announced that it would be closing schools.

The day after the lockdown was announced, congestion levels went down even further and have remained low ever since. A typical 30-minute drive now takes less than 17 minutes to complete.

How has high street managed to cope? And restaurants?

It's not just car drivers who are staying at home. Footfall on the high street is also significantly down as shops and businesses close their physical premises to abide by the social distancing measures.

In March, an unprecedented 41.3% fewer people were on the streets, compared to the same period in 2019, according to retail analytics provider Springboard.

The drop in footfall and the lockdown has been particularly devastating to the hospitality industry, especially restaurants. Dine-in destinations haven't taken a single reservation since lockdown started, joining many countries around the world.

How many jobless claims have been made since the lockdown? What about vacancies?

Since March, the coronavirus lockdown has put the labour market in a "deep slowdown". Restrictions on businesses means that hiring growth has come to a standstill.

Data from Institute for Employment Studies shows that March 2020 recorded the biggest monthly change of 412% in new claims for Universal Credit and Job Seekers Allowance. The second biggest monthly increase in 1984 was a mere 78% in comparison.

Similarly, analysis of vacancies on job portal Indeed shows that vacancies have fallen by 40% across the whole economy with some sectors, including hospitality and tourism, witnessing 80% of their roles vanish.

Crime

Crime appears to be falling too. Serious assaults, rape, burglaries and vehicle crime have all come down by a third. However National Police Chiefs' Council says there as an uptick in the number of domestic abuse cases.

Anti-social behaviour was up by 59%, largely linked to people ignoring the lockdown measures.

How has broadband usage changed?

Businesses have allowed their employees to work from home. Day time internet use has consequently risen to levels never seen before. Broadband providers says that the increased demand during the day is still less than what their networks deal with in the evenings.

Data from UBS Evidence Labs however suggests that on average internet users in London have seen lower download speeds and an increase in lag since the lockdown was announced as more of us stay online for longer.

When will the lockdown be lifted?

The lockdown measures have been extended for another three week period as new cases of the virus continue to be detected in all four nations and authorities fear overwhelming the healthcare system if the social distancing is relaxed.

The UK isn't alone in fighting off the pandemic with a lockdown. More than 30 countries around the world, with half of the world's population, have currently imposed severe mobility restrictions. Sweden remains the only exception in the West to have never imposed a severe lockdown.

More than 15 countries have either announced or have already eased some restrictions.