‘1 in 40 infected with Covid’ as strains on rise

ANOTHER looming wave of Covid infections must be taken seriously, some scientists have warned.

They estimate there were 1.7 million with the virus in the UK in the week to June 18, the highest since late April.

Dr Kit Yates, a mathematical biologist at the University of Bath, said that the rise was driven by two fresh variants – BA.4 and BA.5 – which had meant that “more than one in every 40 people” was infected with Covid-19.

Fatigue

He added: “More people will become infected, which will lead to more hospitalisations and sadly, but inevitably, to more deaths.”

Dr Yates said two million may have “long Covid” with more than 800,000 reporting breathlessness and fatigue lasting longer than a year.

The UK Health Security Agency’s weekly report said infections and hospital admissions were rising.

Dr Mary Ramsay, agency director of clinical programmes, said: “We continue to see...a rise in case rates and hospitalisations in those aged 65 years and over, and outbreaks in care homes.

“We can also now see a rise in ICU admissions in older age groups.”

Dr Ramsay said 83.5 per cent of over-75s had had a Covid jab within the past six months and she urged the rest to request a booster.

She added: “Vaccination remains the best defence. Covid-19 has not gone.”

Zoe Covid Study data shows a similar trend.Analysts behind the Zoe app estimate some 285,000 people develop symptomatic cases daily.

Meanwhile, Dr Susan Hopkins, the UKHSA chief medical adviser, said officials are planning for an earlier flu season. She told a Royal Society of Medicine webinar they were watching Australia “very, very carefully”.

She said: “They have had their worst influenza season for more than five years. It started earlier and it rose very fast in all age groups. While we normally don’t see influenza kick off until the end of November, that might happen as early as late September.”