Covid infections have risen by 300,000 in the past week – an increase of 23 percent – as 1.7 million were thought to have had the virus.
The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics show that 1,360,600 people in England tested positive for Covid during the week ending 18 June, up 21% from the previous week.
Scotland saw the largest increase of 42 per cent with 250,700 infected, while 68,500 tested positive in Wales and 59,900 in Northern Ireland.
The rate of Covid infection has increased in all regions of England except the northeast and southeast, according to ONS.
The increase is due to the new BA.4 and BA.5 variants, which are sub-variants of the Omicron. According to ONS, the infection rates of the current variants are slightly higher than Alpha during the first wave, but hospitalizations are four times lower and deaths 20 times lower.
However, hospital admissions are increasing in all age groups, and data for England yesterday show that the number of patients in hospital with Covid has increased by 40 percent.
According to an analysis by Adele Groyer of the Covid Actuaries Response Group, the number of people catching Covid in hospitals is also increasing. Ms Groyer said Thursday that there were 1,350 people who may have caught Covid in hospital last week – more than 519 cases four weeks ago.
The figures come after former Deputy Chief Medical Officer Jonathan Van Tam told BBC Radio Four on Friday morning that ONS data from last week showed nothing “alarming”.
He said the current level of hospitalizations admitted to critical care were “benign.”
Professor Van Tam said that if it remained “benign”, the government would have to say “this is part of the way we are starting to adapt to life with this virus in the long run”.
In a briefing in the UK on Friday, the Health Security Agency warned that Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 now account for more than half of all new Covid cases.
Professor Susan Hopkins, Chief Medical Adviser at UKHSA, said: “It is clear that the growing prevalence of Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 has significantly increased the number of cases we have seen in recent weeks. We are seeing an increase in hospitalizations in line with community-based infections, but vaccinations continue to keep intensive care and deaths low.
“As the prevalence increases, it is more important than ever to stay alert, take precautions and ensure that we keep up with Covid vaccinations, which remain our best form of protection against the virus. It’s not too late to catch up if you miss the boosters or even the first doses, so please take the vaccines you recommend. ”
Professor Hopkins warned that 17.5% of people aged 75 and over had not had a vaccine in the past six months, putting them at greater risk of serious illness.
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