Coronavirus rates spark increased death fears

Rising numbers of coronavirus infections could see an increase in death and hospital admissions, experts have warned.

Infection rates in England areatrecordlevelsandthetwo variants of Omicron - BA.1 and BA.2 - have caused twin peaks in the pandemic, in January, and in March, the data suggests.

Infections are increasing in the older age groups - those most likely to suffer from severe illness – and results from Imperial College London's study suggest hospital admissions have also been going up.

This was backed up by the NHS Confederation, which says there are currently nearly 20,000 people in hospital with Covid.

Dr Layla McCay, director of policy at the NHS Confederation, said: "We are now seeing record numbers of people currently infected with Covid, and it's particularly concerning to note the unprecedented and still rising levels in older people.

"Nearly 20,000 people are now in hospital with Covid in England and the NHS, and staff are once again really struggling to cope with increasing admissions.

“NHS leaders and their teams are reopening coronavirus wards. The Government must take heed, combined with chronic staff shortages, and a waiting list backlog that now tops 6.1million, we really need a realistic conversation about the current situation in the health service."

Prof Christl Donnelly, of Imperial College London, said: "If you see more infections, you would expect to see more of the severe outcomes. We don't yet know when we'll see a peak in the oldest age group and, because those people are at higher risk of severe outcomes, that is a worry.”