New government data shows hospital admissions for Covid-19 and flu rose by more than 20 per cent over the Christmas period as rising virus numbers began to hit the population in December.
The report showed that “influenza activity increased across most indicators, including hospital admissions,” which increased by 33 percent between Christmas and New Year, from 5.1 to 6.8 per 100,000 people.
Covid hospital admissions rose by 8 per cent over the same period, according to new data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).
Overall, hospital admissions for Covid and flu rose 21 per cent over Christmas, from 9.9 per 100,000 people to 12.
Scientists warned on Tuesday that Covid cases could reach a new record by mid-January after the highly contagious JN.1 subvariant became the dominant strain by Christmas.
This will likely lead to an increase in hospitalizations over the next two to three weeks.
The latest available survey of winter infections by the ONS and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), published on December 21, showed that 2.54 million people had Covid as of December 13, more than double the number at the start of the month.
Today’s UKHSA report confirms that rising Covid cases are leading to increased hospital capacity.
“The rising hospitalization rate is a reflection of the burden of infection in the population. They also alert us to the spread of infections among vulnerable people – things we need to monitor more closely, such as infections in care homes,” Professor Lawrence Young, a virologist at the University of Warwick, told me. I.
“We all know people who have had a ‘bad cold’ over Christmas and New Year and it is most likely a combination of Covid and other infections.”
“This does not bode well as people return to work and students return to school, which will inevitably lead to an increase in the spread of Covid,” he said.
Rising Covid cases and hospital admissions are adding to pressure on the NHS, which is already struggling with a backlog of surgeries worsened by Covid.
The service is also in disarray this week as trainee doctors went on strike over pay.
Source: I News
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