The total number of people in hospital in England who tested positive for Covid-19 rose to 11,878 in the seven days to Wednesday, a 33% increase on the previous week. Dr. David Spiegelhalter said cases were still rising more widely and there was “huge undercounting” because testing was not being done as much as it had been. More than 2 million people had the virus according to the Covid-19 Infection Survey, the largest regular survey of coronavirus infections and antibodies, which Spiegelhalter described as one of the most reliable sources of data, though he stressed it was several years ago. weeks. . He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “It’s high. It’s not as high as it was – it’s up to 8% this year – but I think we need to look at hospitalizations.” “They are rising sharply and are almost at the level of previous peaks this year. I think there are some signs that they may be breaking through.” Around a quarter of those admitted to hospital were found to have contracted it in hospital, he said, but added that all required extra care and this was fueling staffing problems in the NHS. “Fortunately, there is no increase in those who are ventilated. This does not mean that there are no serious cases,” he added. The latest figures are seen as evidence of how the virus is becoming more widespread, with the potential to add further pressure to hospital staff already trying to clear a record backlog. The current wave is being led by Omicron variants BA.4 and BA.5, which are now the dominant strains in the UK and are more contagious than the BA.2 variant which caused infection levels to reach an all-time high earlier in the year . The rate of hospital admissions in England of people testing positive for Covid-19 was 14.6 per 100,000 last week, up from 11.1 the previous week, according to the UK Health Safety Agency (UKHSA). Intensive care unit (ICU) admissions were 0.4 per 100,000, up from 0.3. Both figures are the highest since mid-April. Health experts have warned that the numbers are likely to continue to rise throughout July due to a “significant” decline in immunity among the elderly. Dr Spiegelhalter said one trend was an increase in excess non-Covid deaths in hospitals – rather than at home – and it was not clear why this was happening. Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed there were 1,540 excess deaths in the week ending June 24, although only around 10% were due to Covid-19. “Some say that maybe this is the beginning of the impact of the pandemic measures and the disruption of health care and people’s use of health care,” said Dr. Spiegelhalter.
