New figures have shown that total Covid-19 infections in the UK have jumped 25% to their highest level since mid-August. There has been a “marked” rise in infection levels among over-70s.
But not all parts of the country are currently experiencing a rise. England and Northern Ireland have both seen an increase while the trend in Scotland and Wales is uncertain.
Several new Covid-19 variants have been identified in the UK but are all circulating at a low level. It is not yet clear if they are the main drivers of the increase in infections. Some 1.3 million people in private households across the UK are likely to have tested positive for coronavirus in the week to September 26, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
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This is up from 1.1 million in the previous week. Professor Mark Woolhouse, of infectious disease epidemiology at Edinburgh University described the figures as “not yet alarming but they are concerning,” adding this is “the third year in a row” there has been a rise in cases during the autumn.
“There is a tendency to attribute this to the start of the school year but schools have never been the main drivers of the epidemic and school-aged children currently have neither the highest nor fastest rising prevalence of infection,” he continued. “More likely, the driver is the end of the summer and a general return to more indoor activities across all age groups, coupled with a waning of vaccine immunity.
"At this stage, it is difficult to know whether or not this is the beginning of a significant winter wave of infection in the UK. So, it is important that the survey data continue to be monitored very closely and that surveillance for new variants continues. The most effective step people can take to protect themselves and others is to take up the offer of booster vaccinations.”
All people in the UK aged 65 and over are currently eligible for a fresh booster dose of Covid-19 vaccine, providing they had their last jab at least three months ago. Doses are also available to frontline health and care workers, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems.
Around four in 10 (40.3%) of people aged 80 and over in England are now likely to have received an autumn booster, along with a similar proportion (41.0%) of 75 to 79-year-olds, according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). Infection rates in England are highest among people aged 70 and over with 2.5% likely to have tested positive for coronavirus in the latest survey, or around one in 40, the ONS said.
This is up from 1.7%, or one in 60, in the previous week. Hospital admissions in England are also rising, with rates highest among over-85s at 132.3 per 100,000 people in the seven days to October 2, up sharply week-on-week from 80.1.
Scotland and Wales are both seeing an increase in Covid-19 patients, while in Northern Ireland the recent fall in numbers has levelled off.
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