Thousands of patients are still catching Covid in hospital wards, the analysis shows, as scientists warn that Britain could face a new wave of coronavirus.
Just days after the NHS abolished the requirement to wear masks in hospitals and GP practices, data show that 19% of positive patients in the wards probably caught the virus in hospital.
Doctors told The Independent they were struggling to control outbreaks in wards as a warning that “hospitals are enriching the infection.”
Data collected by the Covid-19 Actuaries Response Group show that the proportion of people likely to have caught Covid in hospital rose 29 percent this week, although the data may underestimate the figures, given that routine tests have failed. Hospitals stopped routine patient tests on admission in May.
In the 28 days to June 5, more than 2,267 of the 13,416 patients who tested positive in hospitals were likely to have caught the virus there, according to analysis by Covid pioneering researcher Dr. Tom Lawton.
A doctor, speaking of outbreaks within their trust, told The Independent: “Hospitals can’t help but spread the infection because staff are unable to limit airborne transmission and only one is needed in the ward, without mechanical ventilation. to lead to dozens of subsequent cases.
“I know of a recent epidemic that took 14 employees; we were not allowed to test the entire ward, so we have no idea how many patients have become infected. “
The total number of cases in the UK increased for the first time in two months, with 953,900 positive in the last week compared to 953,000 in the previous week.
Admissions at Covid Hospital rose 38 percent on Friday from a week earlier, while community infections began to rise in some parts of the country after two months of decline.
The increase in Covid intake is coming as NHS remains under extreme pressure, with A&E departments warning patients that they have to wait up to 13 hours.
Experts have questioned the decision to stop using masks in hospitals. Dr Helen Salisbury, of the Independent Sage Scientific Advisory Group, said it was “disappointing” and that there was no good reason to do so.
She said: “It’s clear that there were a lot of Covids acquired in the hospital, and a lot of people who weren’t tested for it … there seems to be a pretty central directive that we don’t need masks anymore, which is really, really disappointing. I am quite concerned that our local trust does not actually say that this is nonsense … I suspect that they are putting pressure from above. I don’t really know, but there’s no good reason to stop wearing a mask.
One doctor told The Independent: “Unfortunately, the reduction in asymptomatic tests seems to be quite common, and only people who insist on off-protocol testing can see results.
Dr Kieran Sharok, Vice-Chair of the British Medical Association’s General Practitioners Committee, said: “It is clear that Covid-19 has not disappeared, so it is good to see the latest guidelines that outline how important it is little for people with respiratory symptoms to continue wearing masks in health facilities.
Speaking at the Independent Sage briefing, Professor Christina Pagel said: “We will have a new wave of infections this month. Now we hope that it will not be as high as the previous two waves, but it may be lower. But we can’t count on that, and we’ll see more people getting infected anyway. “
Professor Pagel said there are currently four variants of Omicron, “all of which are growing fast”, while the previous wave in March was driven by two variants.
However, Professor John Edmunds of the Sage government group said: “It is very difficult to say where it can and how it can be changed … [infections] it can just collide. “
In a survey conducted by Clinically Vulnerable Families UK, which represents thousands of patients across the country, more than 700 said they were concerned about wearing masks in a clinical setting, while 200 said they would reconsider treatment at NHS facilities.
A spokesman for the group said: “Health facilities are populated mainly by the elderly and those who are clinically vulnerable and remain the most at risk of Covid infections. One-way masking is known to be far less protective, so vulnerable people must rely on other people to wear masks, while other measures, such as hepa air filters, have become widespread.
On Thursday, Dr Jamie Lopez Bernal, an epidemiologist-consultant working for the UK’s Immunity and Counteraction Division, said: The incidence of Covid-19 continues to decline, but it remains important to get vaccinated to reduce the risk of serious illness. If you have not yet taken advantage of the vaccine offer or missed your last stroke, please go ahead now.
“Recent data show a small increase in positivity levels and hospitalizations with Covid-19. These small increases should be interpreted with caution, as data may be subject to delays due to the anniversary banking holiday. “
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