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Britons are complying well with lockdown rules but need to “tighten up” on meeting people outdoors, an expert has said.
Dr Daisy Fancourt, from UCL’s Institute of Epidemiology and Health, also said serious rule flouting, such as house parties, is only being carried out by a “very, very tiny” percentage of people.
Speaking on BBC Breakfast, she said: “I think one of the things we were most struck by is actually how good compliance is at the moment.
“We found that compliance has been improving month on month, and week on week, and actually it’s now back to the same levels that it was last May, so whilst we hear the stories of rule-breakers, actually the majority of the population are really playing their part at the moment.”
But Dr Fancourt, who is also the lead author of the study on which rules are most likely to be broken, said more people are trying to “slightly push the boundaries”.
She added: “What we’re seeing a bit more of is people bending these rules, so perhaps looking for loopholes, or slightly pushing the boundaries of the rules, and of course that’s risky because this is a very complicated virus.
"Some of those behaviours that perhaps we might have got away with a few months ago with the last strain, we’re not necessarily able to get away with now."
Dr Fancourt also said that the rule people are breaking the most is meeting up with more parties than allowed outdoors.
In England, you cannot meet anyone from outside your household or support bubble indoors or outdoors for social reasons.
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But you can exercise with one other person from outside of your household or support bubble in an outdoor public place, such as a park.
Dr Fancourt said people often believe they have got that added protection from being outside with the increased air and ventilation.
Although she admitted that was in fact true “to a certain extent”, she said people still needed to be careful and cautious because of the new strain of virus.
“I think now we’re looking at this new virus we’ve got to be particularly cautious on this,” she said.
“We’re finding this across all age groups, so it’s not like there’s one particular group that are most likely to break this rule, but I think it’s one that people, if they’re looking to improve their own behaviours at the moment, it’s a really good one to try and tighten up on.”