Covid in babies to 18 year olds ‘higher than ever’ with the UK ‘really in trouble’ as cases soar
COVID-19 infections are 'higher than ever' in babies to 18-year-olds with one expert warning the UK is 'really in trouble' as cases continue to soar.
Cases have gone up by 17 per cent in just a week with 85 per cent of areas seeing a rise, according to the latest data from the ZOE symptom Tracker App.
The experts said there had been 81,823 new daily cases in the last five days, compared to 69,993 last week.
Official Government data also showed today case rate in schoolkids in England have reached a record high.
A total of 1,366.8 cases per 100,000 people aged 10 to 19 were logged in the seven days to 17 October - the highest weekly rate since October 2020, according to the UK Health Security Agency.
A Downing Street press conference was held last night for the first time in weeks, as Health Secretary Sajid Javid warned that infections were rising, but said Plan B measures which would involve masks and work from home orders would not yet be implemented.
Daily infections are over 49,000 and 179 new deaths were reported yesterday, bringing the UK's total to 139,031, government data shows.
Today it was also revealed that ministers are currently discussing Plan C measures, which would mean that families wouldn't be able to mix at Christmas.
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Infections are on the rise in all age groups, but the ZOE data states that cases 'in 0-18 year olds have bounced back and are higher than ever'.
Cases in the 35-55 year old group cases are also climbing but not as dramatically, the experts said.
Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) also revealed that infections are currently highest in school children in years 7 to 11.
It stated: "High infection levels among school-age children are likely to be related to the increased likelihood of education sector workers testing positive for the coronavirus in the two weeks up to October 3."
Overall hospital admissions also increased 6.03 per 100,000 people in the week ending 10 October 2021.
Professor Tim Spector, lead scientist on the app said Brits needed to "act now" to bring infections down.
He said: “With over 80,000 new cases a day the UK really is in trouble. This hasn’t happened overnight, but frustratingly our calls for a more cautious approach to Covid management have gone unheeded, despite the upward trends we’ve reported now for several weeks.
"As feared, cases have spilled over into the older age group which will certainly lead to more hospitalisations and deaths. The UK needs to act now to prevent the situation from escalating out of control ahead of winter."
This pandemic is far from over, and whilst it seems some would rather bury their heads in the sand, Covid-19 and its new variants have other plans
Professor Tim Spector
He explained that there are two main reasons that cases are climbing, one being the 'flagging vaccine' campaign.
The UK Health Security Agency today revealed case rates are highest in those aged 10 to 19, with a weekly a weekly rate of 1366.8 per 100,000 population.
The lowest case rates were in those aged 80 and above, with a weekly rate of 121.2 per 100,000 population.
It comes after Health Secretary last night urged Brits who are eligible to get their coronavirus vaccine to come forward as soon as possible.
This, he explained would keep the UK from having to implement further restrictions.
The Sun this week also launched the Give Britain a Booster campaign, as only four million Brits of the eight million eligible have had their shots.
However, Prof Spector said the second issue was the fact that the UK had lifted all remaining coronavirus restrictions too early.
He said: "The majority of new cases in the UK are in the unvaccinated. More needs to be done to encourage, cajole and educate people into getting their jabs, and support those who need them to get their booster shots.
"I’d also welcome the return of simple measures, such as wearing masks on public transport and in crowded, poorly-ventilated places, avoiding large indoor gatherings and working from home where possible.
"Unfortunately, the government’s refusal to take Covid seriously since ‘Freedom Day’ has only encouraged the idea that Covid isn’t worth worrying about. Doing nothing now will just make it worse.
"This pandemic is far from over, and whilst it seems some would rather bury their heads in the sand, Covid-19 and its new variants have other plans.”
Further data from the team at ZOE states that cases are highest in Wales, Midlands, North West and North East.
It was today revealed that 20 areas across England could receive additional coronavirus measures if infections continue to rise.
This could include more testing and support for the vaccine rollout.
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In terms of prevalence, on average 1 in 63 people in the UK currently have symptomatic Covid, the ZOE data states.
This figure is slightly different from that put out by the ONS which states that 1 in 60 people are currently infected.