Fears of a new wave as Covid cases jump 50pc in a week
COVID cases have risen 50 per cent in England in a week, with experts concerned that the increases may be the start of a new wave.
The latest infection survey from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimated that one in 50 people are now infected in England – 1.1 million – compared with one in 70 the previous week, around 745,000.
The situation is worse in Scotland, where one in 30 people would now test positive, the ONS estimated, up from one in 40 the week before, a 42 per cent increase in seven days.
Wales has seen a 60 per cent increase in infections, from around 40,000 to nearly 65,000, meaning one in 45 are infected – the same as Northern Ireland.
Kara Steel, senior statistician for the Covid-19 Infection Survey, said: “Infections have increased across all four UK nations, driven by rising numbers of people infected with the BA.4 and BA.5 omicron variants.
“It remains too early to say if this is the start of another wave, but we continue to monitor the data very closely.”
Although the ONS infection survey is a little behind, currently running up to June 11, it is more accurate than the Government’s coronavirus dashboard, which is also recording a worrying rise in cases and hospitalisations.
Some 5,008 patients in England had Covid on June 16, up 23 per cent on the previous week, while in Scotland 748 patients were recorded on June 12, the latest date available, up 17 per cent.
Wales and Northern Ireland have recorded smaller week-on-week increases but have yet to show a steady rise, government figures show.
Research released by Peking University yesterday found that the omicron variants BA.4 and BA.5 have higher transmissibility than the original strain and may be better at evading immunity from vaccines or a prior infection.
The authors said they were concerned that variant vaccines – such as Moderna’s new omicron jab – may not protect against the new variants.
Earlier this week, a study by Imperial College London showed that catching omicron does not protect people from a future infection with the variant.
A total of 1.4 million people in private households in Britain are estimated to have had the virus last week, up 43 per cent from 989,800 the week before.
Total infections are at levels last seen at the start of May, but remain below the record 4.9 million at the peak of the omicron BA.2 wave at the end of March.
The percentage of people testing positive is thought to have increased among all age groups in England and all regions except the North East, where the trend is described as “uncertain”.
Infection levels are highest among 50 to 69-year-olds – one in 35 was likely to have had the virus last week.