After England imposed its second national lockdown on November 5, the country’s coronavirus cases have fallen by 30% during the period and the virus is now in retreat, a large-scale study of more than 100,000 volunteers revealed on Monday. The country is due to return to a regional approach to restrictions from December 2. Levels of infection fell 30%, with 96 people per 10,000 infected between November 13 and November 24, according to interim results of the study by Imperial College London and Ipsos MORI. The last iteration of the research, carried out between October 16 and November 2, showed 130 infections per 10,000 people. “The findings showcases were rising as the country entered a lockdown, but this was followed by a decrease as national measures successfully lowered infection rates across the country,” a statement issued by the health department said. Prime Minister Boris Johnson faced criticism over the decision to lock down from within his own party where some said it was an unnecessary infringement on civil liberties. The opposition Labour Party said he had been too slow to react. The reproductive number of the virus was estimated at 0.88, reinforcing data released on Friday which showed infection numbers were shrinking by between 0% and 2% every day.