The United Kingdom needs to prepare for a new wave of Covid, according to a leading scientist. Professor Christina Pagel says she expects the infections to jump later this month, the Independent reports.
Professor Pagel of University College London told a briefing of the Independent Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies: “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 and may be lower. But we can’t count on that, and we’ll see more people getting infected anyway. “
According to Prof. Pagel, there are four variants of Omicron “all are growing fast”, while the previous wave in March had two variants.
She said: “It is no surprise that we have a new wave that can be seen in the data. What has happened is that people don’t want to watch, and we kind of close our eyes to that. This is our third wave in six months. So we kind of had six months on Delta, now we’re every two months on Omicron. Omicron’s kids are better than Omicron consistently, that’s not the case with Delta. “
Covid infections in the UK are no longer declining, with some parts of the country showing early signs of a possible increase, new data show. The increase was probably caused by a jump in infections compatible with the original version of Omicron BA.1, together with the newer versions BA.4 and BA.5.
This is because some figures suggest that the recent decline in the number of people in hospital with Covid-19 may also have stopped. A total of 989,800 people in private households in the United Kingdom are thought to have had the virus in the week ending June 2, up from 953,900 in the previous week, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
This is the first time that the total number of infections has increased week by week since the end of March, when their number reached a record 4.9 million at the peak of the Omicron BA.2 wave. All four nations have seen a slight increase in the spread of the virus, although the ONS describes the trend in Scotland and Wales as “uncertain”.
In England, 797,500 people probably tested positive for Covid-19 last week, the equivalent of about one in 70. This is a weekly increase of 784,100, which is also about one in every 70. In Northern Ireland, there has been an increase of infections for the second consecutive week to reach 27,700 people, or one in 65, compared to 24,300 people, or one in 75.
In Scotland, 124,100 people were probably infected with the virus last week, or one in 40, compared with 105,900 or one in 50. Wales has noticed that Covid-19 infections increase very slightly to approximately 40,500, or one in 75, out of 39,600, also one in 75.
“In all four countries in the United Kingdom, the percentage of people who tested positive for Covid-19 compatible with Omicron variants BA.1, BA.4 and BA.5 increased in the week ending 2 June 2022.” said ONS.
Omicron BA.1 is the original version of Omicron, which caused a jump in infections in the UK in December and early January. BA.4 and BA.5 are newer options that have recently been classified by the UK Health Security Agency as ‘options of concern’, after analysis found that both are likely to have a ‘growth advantage’ over BA. 2, which is still dominant. tension in the country.
Initial findings show that BA.4 and BA.5 have a degree of ‘immune escape’, which means that the immune system can no longer recognize or fight the virus, which is likely to contribute to their growth advantage over BA. 2, said UKHSA. The latest estimates for Covid-19 infections are coming, as separate figures suggest that the recent decline in the number of people in hospital with the virus may have stopped.
About 4,082 patients in England had Covid-19 on June 9, up 6% from the previous week, while 637 patients were registered in Scotland on June 5, the last available date, 8% more than the week. The number of patients in both nations has previously been on a steady downward trend since early April, following the peak of the Omicron BA.2 wave.
In Wales and Northern Ireland, the numbers of people with the virus have leveled off in recent days. The number of patients in the United Kingdom remains well below the peaks reached during previous waves of the virus.
The percentage of people tested positive for Covid-19 in England is thought to have increased among 35- to 49-year-olds, with early signs of an increase among people aged 12 to 24, ONS added. The trend over the past week has been “uncertain” in all other age groups.
Among the regions of England, infection rates are thought to have risen in the North West, London and South East, with early signs of an increase in the East of England. Levels have fallen in the Southwest and West Midlands, while the trend in all other regions is uncertain.
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