Covid cases surge in older generations

Coronavirus cases are surging among the over-fifties, according to Government figures seen by The Daily

Telegraph. Senior officials last night warned of “worrying” signs for higher risk groups as Public Health England data showed that infections increased 92 per cent among those in their fifties last week, 72 per cent in people aged 60 to 69, and 44 per cent among those in their eighties. It came as Birmingham was ordered back into lockdown after a huge rise in cases.

Henry Bodkin, Laura Donnelly

Izzy Lyons

COVID-19 cases are surging among the over-50s, according to government figures seen by The Daily Telegraph.

Senior officials last night warned of “worrying” signs for high-risk groups, as Public Health England data revealed that last week infections increased 92 per cent among those in their 50s, 72 per cent among 60-somethings, and 44 per cent among those in their 80s.

It came as Birmingham was ordered back into lockdown amid warnings that Covid cases were spiralling across the UK in a way last seen in March.

Until yesterday, it looked as if the rise in infections, driven principally by young adults, was not yet affecting the most vulnerable older groups.

However, new PHE figures appeared to justify experts’ fears, showing recent increases in hospital admissions among people aged 60 and over.

There was a 20 per cent increase in Covid-related admissions last week compared with the previous week among those aged 60-75, a 72 per cent increase among 75 to 84-year-olds, and a 67 per cent rise in those 85 and over.

A PHE source said this had not yet followed through to intensive care admissions, but added: “The great worry is that that is what’s coming next.”

Overall, there were 1,635 new cases among people aged 50 and over in England last week, compared with 915 in the previous seven days. Yvonne Doyle, PHE medical director, said 3,539 new Covid-19 cases were reported on Friday compared with 2,919 the day before.

“Although younger people continue to make up the greatest share of new cases, we’re now starting to see worrying signs of infections occurring in the elderly, who are at far higher risk of getting seriously ill.”

From Tuesday, households in Birmingham, Sandwell and Solihull will be banned from mixing both in public places and in private homes.

The weekly infection rate in Birmingham is now higher than it was during lockdown, jumping from 61.5 per 100,000 in early April to 80 per 100,000 in the first week of September. It came as surveillance showed the R-rate may now be as high as 1.7 in England, with infection rates doubling on a weekly basis. Government sources said the rate of increase was similar to that seen in early to mid-march, before the country went into lockdown, with the reproduction rate clearly above 1 for the first time since then.

They suggested that if the “rule of six” failed to slow the spread of disease, further restrictions could see curfews, pub and restaurant closures or more restrictions on households mixing.

Other estimates published yesterday suggested both England and the UK had R-rates of 1 to 1.2, but experts warned this data carried a time lag.

The virus is “no longer clustering in healthcare or care home settings”, officials said yesterday, as they warned that the outbreak was on the march in the community in “all areas” of the country.

Data from the Imperial College London REACT study showed infection rates increasing in all adult age groups below the age of 65. The highest rates of infection were in young people aged 18 to 24, with the worst-hit areas being Yorkshire and the Humber, the North East and the North West.

Prevalence of the disease is now doubling every 7.7 days, with a national prevalence for England of 0.126 per cent, compared with 0.040 per cent up to Aug 8.

Office for National Statistics data suggested that around 1 in 1,400 people had Covid-19 in the week ending Sept 5, up from 1 in 2,000 a week before.