Covid cases up 3% in a week as infections hit 1.6million
CORONAVIRUS infections have increased by three per cent in the last week, data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revealed.
An estimated 1.6million Brits had the bug in the week ending February 28, up from 1.5million last week.
This is a small week-on-week percentage increase since the current rise in infections began at the end of January.
And jabs are protecting millions of Brits against severe illness, after a mammoth rollout.
The Sun also encouraged Brits to get both flu and Covid vaccines this winter with the ‘Do the Double’ campaign, in order to keep them safe from both illnesses.
Just this week it was revealed that vulnerable people are set to get another Covid booster this spring.
The vaccine will protect eligible patients throughout the summer as they wait for another booster programme to be rolled out later this year.
Commenting in the rise in infection, Michelle Bowen, Head of Health Surveillance Dissemination at the ONS said: “It is an uncertain picture across much of the UK, with Scotland showing increases in the number of people testing positive for Covid-19 in the latest week.
“Infections continue to vary across regions and age groups in England. Though many age groups have uncertain trends, rates are increasing in the over 70s.”
Data published by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) yesterday also revealed that hospital rates for Covid have increasd.
The admission rate for the last week was 9.44 per 100,000 the population.
This is a small increase from 9.03 per 100,000 in the previous week.
Hospital admission rates for Covid are highest in the North East, with a rate of 15.66 per 100,000 population, the report stated.
Dr Mary Ramsay, Head of Immunisation at the UKHSA said there continues to be a downward trend in Covid infections.
She added: “Hospital admission rates for Covid-19 have slightly increased, reflecting the higher rates of infection in recent weeks, and remain highest in those aged 85 and over.
“Flu cases have decreased but we still hope to see further decreases in the coming weeks.”
The expert added that there are simple actions you can take to make a big difference in reducing the spread of these viruses.
“You can help by regularly washing your hands or staying at home and avoiding vulnerable people if you are unwell.
“If you do have to leave the house, please consider wearing a face covering, which can help prevent you passing respiratory viruses on.”
The new data comes after a study published earlier this month revealed that you’re actually more likely to experience a host of gastrointestinal problems if you’ve been infected with the virus.
This is the case even if your illness was pretty mild, according to clinical epidemiologists from Washington University in St. Louis, US.