Since then, infections, hospitalisations and deaths had all been falling consistently until this week, with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson dropping all restrictions on February 24.
Statisticians surveyed 3,000 people in Britain from February 16 to 27 — with all restrictions ending on February 24.
They showed the use of face coverings in shops and on public transport decreased compared to the previous week.
Some 71 per cent said they always or often wore face coverings while in shops, down from 77 per cent from February 3 to 13.
And 70 per cent reporting wearing a face covering throughout the journey on public transport, down from 78 per cent in the previous period.
Almost one-third (32 per cent) of adults reported always or often maintaining social distancing, down from 35 per cent.
This is the lowest proportion of adults reporting maintaining social distancing since data collection on this measure started in September 2020, the report said.
Around four in 10 (42 per cent) adults said they had taken a rapid lateral flow test in the past seven days, decreasing from 49 per cent.
The percentage of people working from home last week also continued to fall, with 15 per cent working remotely compared with 26 per cent from January 6 to 16.
Source: IANS
