Although the UK set a happy record on June 1 – no deaths per day from COVID-19, the Indian version of the coronavirus (B.1.617.2, called the delta version by the World Health Organization) is already dominant on the island, reports actualno.com.
According to the epidemiologist of Imperial College London, Professor Neil Ferguson, who makes the models for the spread of the infection for the government, the variant is 60% more contagious than the dominant variants so far – first of all the British B.1.1.7.
In addition, according to Ferguson, who spoke on the basis of information from the health services of England and Scotland, the Indian version is up to twice as likely to lead to hospital treatment for unvaccinated.
According to Sky News, COVID cases in England rose by 76.5% in one week, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The agency estimates that 85,600 people in the country were infected during the week to May 29 – equivalent to about 1 in 640 people in private households.
In the north-western part of the country the most cases were registered during the week until May 29 – about 1 in 280, the South-East England has the lowest value – 1 in 1490.
Additional data suggest that the reproductive number, ie. this indicator, which measures how many people are infected, has increased to between 1 and 1.2, compared to between 1 and 1.1 on a weekly basis.
The good news for the UK is that there is no national problem so far, because the number of vaccinated is high, but not so high (70-80 per cent with a full immunization course) to effectively stop a new wave.
The bad one – there are 10 times more patients with COVID-19 among people under 40 than over 60, for the period April 18 – May 29, 2021.
And according to a study of 6,639 coronavirus tests performed between 16 and 29 May 2021 in the UK, there is currently an 80% increase in symptomatic newly diagnosed cases of infection in the United Kingdom.
“The picture in the UK is changing rapidly. Cases are increasing, but not nationally, it is largely a regional problem. The North West of England and Scotland are the two regions with the highest prevalence, with levels higher than in the UK. some parts of Europe.
However, the data emphasize that the increase occurs in younger age groups, which suggests the beginning of an epidemic among young people.
We can’t be too complacent and watch things closely, “said Tim Specter, a lead scientist at ZOE COVID Study and a professor of genetic epidemiology at King’s College London. An article in the British Medical Journal states that The islands are growing, with the fastest increasing cases in the age group 7-11 years!
The graphs are eloquent – in the elderly, where vaccination coverage against coronavirus is greatest, there is almost no change in the spread of the infection. But where there is no such vaccination coverage yet – ie. in the younger ones, things get worse.
Four weeks ago, there were at least one epidemic outbreak in 250 schools on the island, most of them due to the Indian version of the coronavirus.
That’s why 8 unions representing schools and universities in the UK asked the British Health Service for detailed information on the spread of coronavirus in schools, but on June 4 the service said they would need more time to provide detailed data.
There are already calls for the government to respond by tightening the measures, because the situation puts the youngest in Britain in danger.
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