A FURTHER 19,482 Brits have tested positive for Covid-19 today, fresh data has revealed. That’s a drop of 40 per cent on infections this time last week, and a 58 per cent fall on rates two weeks ago. It comes after parents were warned that there could be an uptick of Covid cases in children […]
A FURTHER 19,482 Brits have tested positive for Covid-19 today, fresh data has revealed.
That’s a drop of 40 per cent on infections this time last week, and a 58 per cent fall on rates two weeks ago.
It comes after parents were warned that there could be an uptick of Covid cases in children once they return to classrooms after Easter.
Lead study author of the ZOE Symptom Tracker app, Professor Tim Spector said official government data varies slightly from that of the ZOE team’s.
He said there has been a a 19 per cent fall on last week’s daily figures.
He said: “All the ages are coming down, pretty much in parallel but it’s really good to see the older ages, the over 75s starting to come down quite fast.
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“Children who tend to drive all these waves are lower than some of the younger adults but it could be that after the Easter holidays these start to come back again as we’ve seen in previous peaks.”
Cases are still being recorded, but numerous studies show that Omicron is a milder variant than those that came before it.
The successful rollout of vaccines in the UK has meant that those who have had three jabs have the most protection against Omicron.
Health officials are continuing to urge people to have their shots and spring boosters are still being rolled out.
Sajid Javid said the rise in infections last month was to be expected after restrictions were lifted, and the Government wasn’t concerned due to Omicron causing a milder illness.
The huge drop in falling official cases coincided with the scrapping of free tests last month – but the rise had started to dip before then.
Prof Spector highlighted that one in 17 people now have Covid in the UK.
He added that this is a high level, but reasoned that there has also been a small decline in hospitalisations.
“Although they are still pretty high at around 2,000 a day, with hospitals as full as ever”, he said.
Despite the fall in cases, a further 646 deaths have been reported, 28 days after a positive Covid test.
The last time deaths were this high was on February 17 2021, when they reached 738.
At present there are 17,638 people in hospital with Covid-19 in the UK – with 349 being treated on a ventilator.
Data published today by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) states that Covid activity across case rates and hospitalisations has declined in the last week.
The hospital admission rate for the latest week was 16.17 per 100,000 population, down from 19.94 in the previous week.
Hospital admission rates for Covid were highest in the North East, with a rate of 22.79 per 100,000 population.
The highest hospital admission rates continue to be those aged 85 and over.
Dr Mary Ramsay, Director of Clinical Programmes at the UK Health Security Agency, said: “It is encouraging that COVID-19 hospital admissions and acute respiratory infections continue to fall this week. We should all take action to keep driving this downward trend.
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“Vaccination provides the greatest protection against severe illness.
“Please ensure you are up-to-date with your latest jabs. If you have any symptoms of a respiratory infection, and a high temperature or feel unwell, try to stay at home or away from others – especially those who are elderly or vulnerable.”
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