Get ready for ANOTHER round of Covid

Hospitalizations due to Covid rose by a quarter in a week, official figures show, amid concerns that a “triple epidemic” will hit the break-up NHS this winter.

The number of people admitted to hospital in England with the virus jumped above 600 on Monday – a 27 per cent rise on a weekly basis and the biggest jump in two months.

Meanwhile, the gold standard of Covid monitoring also shows cases are rising across the country after weeks of decline.

NHS bosses have warned that the service is facing its ‘most challenging winter ever’, due to an influx of Covid and flu patients, along with a crisis in emergency services. Strikes by tens of thousands of doctors and staff shortages are expected to further exacerbate the pressures.

NHS hospitalization figures in England show 639 people infected with Covid were admitted to NHS care on November 28, up from 503 a week earlier.

This is the biggest weekly jump in two months.

Admission jumped 36 percent on a weekly basis on October 4, and began to decline shortly thereafter.

Meanwhile, 4,964 people with a positive test were in hospital beds on November 30, an eight percent increase from the previous week.

As with admissions, the number of patients has been falling for just over a month, after reaching a peak of 10,688 on October 17.

But this decline seems to have leveled off, with figures for the last few days showing a slight increase.

And the number of Covid patients in intensive care increased by nine percent to 128 on November 30.

However, the numbers are still a fraction of the levels they were earlier in the pandemic.

And not every patient is actually sick with the virus.

At the peak of daily admissions this year, about 2,300 people were admitted in March, while about 17,000 were in hospital and 800 in intensive care at one point in January.

In the darkest days of the Covid crisis, more than 4,000 were admitted in one day, 35,000 were in the hospital, and 3,700 were in intensive care.

Rates are highest among people aged 85 and over, 50.2 per 100,000.

dr. Mary Ramsay, director of public health programs at the UK Health Safety Agency (UKHSA), said: ‘As we move into the coldest part of the year, we would expect the prevalence of Covid and other winter viruses to start to rise as people move more indoors. That’s what the data is starting to show.

‘Covid hospitalization is highest in the oldest age groups, so it is especially important that everyone who meets the conditions come forward to receive the vaccination.

‘Although Covid and influenza may be mild infections for many, we must not forget that they can cause serious illness or even death for the most vulnerable in our communities.

‘If you are unwell this winter, try to stay at home and avoid contact with vulnerable people – this will help stop the spread of infection.’

And only one third of the patients in the hospital with Covid were primarily admitted because they were not well with the virus. The remaining two-thirds were taken into NHS care for another reason, such as a broken leg, but accidentally tested positive.

However, all patients with the virus still need to be isolated from patients who do not have the virus, placing additional demands on staff already struggling with a record backlog of treatment.

It comes after figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) suggested that Covid infections rose by 7.9 per cent in the week to November 21 after four weeks of decline.

Its surveillance data, based on random swab samples from thousands of people, showed 873,200 people were carrying the virus, up from 809,200 a week earlier.

This means that one in 65 people (1.48 percent of the population) carried the virus last week.

Meanwhile, the number of cases fell in Wales, where 39,600 (one in 75 people) were infected, and the trend was uncertain in Scotland (91,100) and Northern Ireland (28,900).

In England, the most cases were in the South West, where 1.8 percent were infected, followed by the North East (1.7 percent), the South East (1.7 percent) and the East Midlands (1.6 percent).

Meanwhile, the prevalence was highest among people aged 11 to 16 (1.9 percent) and 35 to 49 (1.9 percent).

Sarah Crofts, deputy director of analysis for the Covid infection survey, said: ‘After a recent period of decline, we are seeing infections start to rise again in England.

‘Cases have increased in the West Midlands, London and much of southern England. We are also seeing a recent increase in positive cases among high school students, older teenagers and young adults.

‘While there has been a continued decline in positive cases in Wales, the trend is uncertain for the rest of the UK.

‘We will be monitoring the data closely until Christmas.’

It comes as a subvariant of Omicron, called BQ.1, and is now the dominant strain in England, causing 50.4 percent of infections, compared with 39 percent a week ago.

Another strain, BA.2.75, is increasing in prevalence, the UKHSA said.

Professor Stephen Powis, NHS England’s medical director, warned: ‘There is a new variant in circulation – BQ1 – which is becoming the dominant variant and seems likely to drive further increases.

‘In some countries in Europe that have it, you can already see an increase in hospital admissions.

‘There is no doubt that these pressures will increase.’

Meanwhile, about six in 10 over-50s received the fall vaccination. Acceptance was highest among people aged 80 to 84 (81 percent), while it was lowest among people aged 50 to 54 (39 percent).

The UKHSA figures, which cover vaccinations up to 27 November, show that an estimated 80.8% of people aged 80 and over have received a booster shot, along with 81.1% of those aged 75 to 79 and 78.3 % of people aged 70 to 74.

All people aged 50 and over can book an appointment for the autumn dose of the covid vaccine, provided that they last received it at least three months ago.

Doses are also available for front-line healthcare workers, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems.