England’s national lockdown has helped to bring coronavirus “back under control” but vigilance is still needed, the health secretary has said.

Matt Hancock hailed the restrictions a success and said infections in England dropped by about 30% in the last week.

The lockdown ends on Wednesday and will be replaced with tiered restrictions.

Mr Hancock stressed the need for the regional system, saying “while we can let up a little, we can’t afford to let up a lot”.

Covid: Virus under control but vigilance needed – Hancock https://t.co/4JK4xafCOA pic.twitter.com/yxPg9fjdGS

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Speaking at a Downing Street news briefing on Monday, he said people following the lockdown rules meant “we’ve reduced pressures on the NHS, we’ve brought down the number of coronavirus cases, we’ve got this virus back under control.”

He added: “The success of our collective efforts means that from Wednesday, everyone in England, even those in tier three, can have some greater freedoms – but we don’t have much headroom.”

Mr Hancock pointed to a major study from Imperial College London that has suggested that the number of infections has fallen by a third since the lockdown was introduced a month ago.

However, the health secretary called for vigilance and said the country could not risk Covid cases rising again as we head towards Christmas.

Prof Stephen Powis, national medical director of NHS England, told the same briefing that it was “crucial” to have infection rates under control ahead of January, when the NHS is at its busiest.