LONDON (AP) – The prevalence of COVID-19 in the UK has reached record highs, with an estimated 1 in 13 people infected with the virus over the past week, according to the latest figures from Britain’s official statistics agency.
An estimated 4.9 million people had the coronavirus in the week ended March 26, up from 4.3 million the previous week, the Office for National Statistics said on Friday. The recent surge is being driven by the more transmittable Omicron variant BA.2, which is the dominant variant across the UK
Hospital admissions and death rates are rising again, although the number of people dying from COVID-19 is still relatively low compared to earlier this year. Still, the latest estimates suggest the steep rise in new infections has continued well into March since late February, when British Prime Minister Boris Johnson lifted all remaining coronavirus restrictions in England.
The figures came on the same day the Government ended free rapid COVID-19 tests for most people in England as part of Johnson’s ‘Living with COVID’ plan. People who don’t have health problems that make them more susceptible to the virus now have to pay for tests to find out if they’re infected.
“The government’s ‘living with COVID’ strategy of removing all mitigation, isolation, free testing and a significant portion of our surveillance comes down to nothing but ignoring this virus going forward,” said Stephen Griffin, Extraordinary Professor at the University of Leeds School of Medicine.
“Such uncontrolled prevalence jeopardizes the protection that our vaccines provide,” he said. “Our vaccines are excellent, but they are not a silver bullet and should not be bearing the brunt of COVID in isolation.”
More than 67% of people aged 12 and over in the UK have been vaccinated and received their booster or third dose of the coronavirus vaccine. Parents in England can also book a low-dose vaccine for children aged 5 to 12 from Saturday.
James Naismith, a professor of biology at Oxford University, said he believed most people in the country would likely be infected with the BA.2 variant by the summer, except for those who were fully shielded or not susceptible to the virus.
“This is literally living with the virus by contracting it,” he said.
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