The UK is bracing itself for another Covid wave, with numbers on the rise. The Mirror reports that experts are worried that flu and Covid will hit simultaneously over the winter, meaning many hospitalisations.
Numbers are already on the rise. Hospital admissions over the last week in England for patients with Covid-19 have jumped 48%. Bed occupancy in hospitals for patients with Covid is up 37% compared with the previous seven days.
Hospital admission rates are highest in the south-east, up 64%, and the Midlands, up 58%, according to analysis of NHS figures by the Covid-19 Actuaries Response Group of insurance experts and epidemiologists. The most common symptom of Covid is still a sore throat, affecting two-thirds of positive cases. However, colds due to rhinovirus are also increasing rapidly and are currently around five times more common than Covid-19.
Other symptoms include a fever and loss of smell. Tim Spector, the Scientific Co-Founder of ZOE, told The Independent: “It looks like we’re in the start of the next wave and this time it’s affected older people slightly earlier than the last wave. Many people are still using the government guidelines about symptoms which are wrong. At the moment, Covid starts in two-thirds of people with a sore throat. Fever and loss of smell are really rare now – so many old people may not think they’ve got Covid. They’d say it’s a cold and not be tested.”
He also said: “It’s clear from ZOE Health Study data that we’re now seeing an autumn wave of Covid-19, combined with increases in hospital admissions.
"We are already at rates last seen in the June wave. With rates on the rise, especially in the vulnerable elderly age groups, the impact on hospitalisations could be higher."
However, he added that the youngest age groups are showing signs of case numbers slowing. He said: "Children tend to be a leader of infection trends, so if this continues next week it is possible that the Covid wave might not be as bad as previously predicted.
"With the increase in colds and rhinovirus, as well as Covid-19, and the likelihood of a major seasonal flu epidemic, it’s especially important to keep vulnerable people properly protected." The professor has urged everyone eligible to get the latest autumn Covid-19 booster, as well as a flu jab to "provide protection from serious illness and hospitalisation, and to avoid poorly ventilated areas without FFP mask protection".
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