A number of new Covid variants are showing an ability to spread quickly and evade vaccine protection, meaning there could be a surge of infections before the end of November according to experts. Figures published last week by the ONS showed that Covid-19 infections are continuing to increase in England and Wales, though levels are still well below those reached during the BA.4/BA.5 wave.
In England, the number of people in private households testing positive for coronavirus in the week to September 17 was 857,400, or around one in 65 – up from 766,500, or one in 70, in the seven days to September 14. The latest estimate for infections in Wales is 62,900, or one in 50 people, up from 39,700, or one in 75.
Covid-19 patient numbers are also starting to rise again. Now the Biozentrum research facility at the University of Basel has warned there are subvariants that are showing an ability to spread rapidly, reports the Independent.
