UK far ahead of Europe in curbing Covid-19

It's not so long ago that much of Europe was looking over to the UK in astonishment at how badly the government was handling the Covid-19 pandemic. As recently as January, the country had the highest death rate in the world. Thanks though to a swift and effective vaccination programme, Europe is now looking across the English channel with envy as pubs across the nation opened up again yesterday, hosting customers outdoors for the first time in months.

As this infographic shows, the relaxation of the UK's lockdown rules is not without justification. Comparing the 7-day average new Covid-19 cases per 100,000 inhabitants with others on the continent, nowhere really comes close to the UK's low 16.8. Portugal, not included here, currently comes closest with 41.6 though unlike the UK, this is on the increase.