The number of Britons falling ill with Covid every day fell for the first time since August last week, a symptom-tracking study has suggested.
King’s College London scientists estimated 69,993 people were getting infected daily in the week ending October 9, down 1.6 per cent from 71,111 the week before.
Professor Tim Spector, the epidemiologist who leads the study, warned the NHS could face ‘disaster’ this winter if the high case numbers trickle into the over-55s despite the downturn.
It comes after more recent data showed Covid cases hit a three-month high yesterday and hospital admissions jumped again — but deaths fell.
The Department of Health’s daily update showed there were 42,776 positive tests across the country in the last 24 hours, up by seven per cent on the previous week.
The figure is the highest recorded since July 21, when 44,104 infections were posted and marks the eighth day in a row of rising cases.
Meanwhile, hospital admissions rose by 10.4 per cent week-on-week to 754, while deaths dropped by five per cent to 136.
King’s College London scientists estimated 69,993 people were getting infected daily in the week ending October 9, down 1.6 per cent from 71,111 the week before
The ZOE Covid Study figures are based on data from 43,624 recent swab tests done between September 25 and October 9. The app has nearly 750,000 weekly contributors in total.
Professor Spector said: ‘The UK seems to be slowly waking up to the fact that Covid cases are too high, but the reality is they’ve been soaring for months and many countries have put us on their red list.
‘Infections remain high in young people, and look to be spilling over into the 35- to 55-year-olds. If these increases creep into the over-55s it could spell disaster for the NHS this winter.
‘This week a major UK Care Home provider has confirmed that based on our research, it’s now including cold-like symptoms on their visitor forms to stop potential Covid cases from entering their facilities.
‘This is a bold move as it goes against the official government guidance, but will ultimately save lives, and hopefully others will follow suit.’
He continued: ‘With cases so high, it’s clear that herd immunity isn’t happening, and the risk is most people continue to believe they are safe if they have had Covid or a vaccine.
‘ZOE data shows that vaccine protection wanes over time and a natural infection alone only gives 64 per cent protection, so we need to be doing all we can to get everyone double vaccinated and stop waiting for herd immunity to happen through natural infection.’
Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk
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