![]() Infections were slightly lower in those aged 35 to 49 (3.5 per cent) and in the over-70s (3.1 per cent), 11 to 15-year-olds (2.3 per cent) and lowest in two to 10-year-olds (1.3 per cent). People aged 50 to 69 were the most likely to be infected (4.2 per cent), followed by 25-to-34-year-olds (4 per cent), and 16 to 24-year-olds (3.6 per cent). Meanwhile, the number of people testing positive shot up across all age groups. This was followed by the East of England, the North West, and the North East (3.6 per cent).Īt the other end of the scale was the East Midlands (2.8 per cent). Infections were highest in London, where 3.7 per cent of the population were estimated to have the virus. The data also suggests that Covid cases are on the rise across all of England's regions. Ministers have watched its results closely throughout the pandemic. The weekly ONS report is based on swabs taken from a sample of thousands of Britons every week. Northern Ireland recorded 71,000 infections, roughly one in 25 people. Infectious disease specialists - including members of the Government's notorious SAGE panel - have confidence the upcoming wave will be no worse than other peaks.Īs well as estimating that 1.8million were infected in England and 290,000 in Scotland, the ONS data also estimated that 106,000 people had the virus in Wales last week. The Prime Minister did, however, leave the door open to future measures by refusing to definitively rule out the return of lockdowns. Some NHS hospitals have already brought back their own rules on coverings.īut Boris Johnson insisted yesterday there were no plans to reintroduce curbs 'at the moment'. Left-leaning experts have already demanded a return of mask-wearing and urged Britons to meet outside because of the uptick, driven by Omicron sub-variants BA.4 and BA.5. ![]() ![]() Prevalence rates were similar in Wales and Northern Ireland but soared to one in 18 north of the border. There are also mounting fears that the NHS will be struck down at the same time by Covid, with colder weather and darker evenings leading to increased social contact indoors - where viruses find it easier to spread.įlu is a seasonal menace on the NHS, with outbreaks more likely between September and March because colder weather forces more people indoors where the virus - like Covid - finds it easier to spread.īut influenza virtually disappeared last winter amid lockdowns aiming to control the spread of Covid.Ī major ONS survey, now considered the best barometre of the outbreak, revealed roughly one in 30 people in England were infected last week. Meanwhile, Dr Hopkins added that we will see at least one more Covid wave later this year partnered with an 'ongoing transmission of monkeypox'. She said the country is 'having its worst flu season in five years', which could replicate in the UK as early as September. ![]() Health officials have said they are expecting an 'early influenza wave' in the UK because there has not been a 'proper' flu season since the start of the Covid pandemic.ĭr Susan Hopkins, chief medical advisor at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), said she is watching Australia - currently in its winter season - 'very carefully' after a strain of influenza 'started early and spread fast across all age groups'. Hospital admissions have also trebled in the last month, piling pressure on an already overwhelmed NHS, although only a fraction of patients are primarily ill with the disease.īritain should brace for an early flu outbreak that will coincide with increasing Covid and monkeypox cases, a top expert has warned. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimates around 2.3 million people currently have the disease, with infections jumping by a third in just one week. It comes as case numbers have soared in recent weeks, with the more contagious variant sweeping through the UK. However, this new jab still needs to be given the green light by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) before it can be rolled out, with officials prepared to use already approved vaccines if it isn't. The company says it has already produced millions of doses of a new jab which it claims is five times better than the original vaccine, and is specifically tailored to counter the Omicron variant of the disease. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) is recommending people over the age of 65 get a booster jab, but the chief medical officer of Moderna has suggested they are given to everyone, including children. GPs in Britain have been told that the NHS is preparing to start its booster campaign on September 1, with officials expressing a 'definite interest' in Moderna's new vaccine. Health officials have given their first public backing for an Omicron-specific booster jab this Autumn that is set to 'increase and extend' protection.
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