Coronavirus infections surged over Christmas to their highest level since the summer, intensifying pressure on an already crisis-stricken NHS as it also battles large numbers of flu and scarlet fever cases.
Cases of Covid-19 are estimated to have more than doubled in less than a month – with nearly three million people believed to have had the virus in the week ending 28 December, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
This equates to one in 20 people being infected with Covid-19 in England that week – the highest infection rate since the July peak driven by the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants.
Case rates were even higher Northern Ireland, where one in 16 people were infected, the largest outbreak in the region since March, according to Michelle Bowen, head of health surveillance at the ONS.
Coronavirus infections rose across all four UK nations over Christmas, Ms Bowen said, with case rates sitting at one in 25 in Scotland, and one in 18 in Wales – also the highest since July.
The proportion of people being admitted to hospital with the virus also increased to its highest level since October in the week to Christmas Day – but decreased slightly in the following seven days.
Just shy of 6,000 people entered English hospitals with coronavirus in the week to 2 January – a decrease of 6 per cent on the previous week, according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).
Of the 9,332 hospital patients with Covid on 4 January, there were 212 who required beds with a mechanical ventilator, the UKHSA said.
While widespread vaccination has hugely reduced the risk of serious illness and death from coronavirus, between Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve there were 873 people who died within 28 days testing positive.
It comes as the NHS grapples with one of the toughest periods in its 75-year history, with the crisis engulfing A&E departments blamed by medics for as many as 500 deaths a week.
Official NHS data on Friday showed record numbers of ambulances queuing outside emergency departments, with 26 per cent of patients waiting more than an hour to enter hospital in the last week of 2022 – up from 10 per cent a year earlier.
“Across English regions, infections have increased in the North East, Yorkshire and the Humber, the East Midlands, the East of England, the South East and the South West,” said Ms Bowen.
“Cases have also increased in those aged two to school Year 6, and those aged 50 years and over.”
An estimated 2.1 million people in private households in the UK – equating to 3.3 per cent of the population – were experiencing self-reported long Covid as of 5 December, the ONS said.
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