Covid news – live: Hospital patients up by 37% as experts warn of fifth wave
Hospitals beds in England taken up by Covid-19 patients have surged by 37 per cent, as experts warned UK has entered its fifth wave.
New NHS data showed the number of positive patients jumped to 7,822 - up by more than 2,000 in a week.
Coronavirus cases have increased sharply in recent weeks, with the latest figures showing 1.7 million people testing positive across the UK, a 23 per cent increase on the week before.
The figures followed warnings from experts that UK has hit its fifth wave and could spell trouble for the NHS as it is already facing the same level of winter levels of demand on beds. The increase is being driven by the recent BA.4 and BA.5 variants, subvariants of Omicron.
Professor Tim Spector, of the ZOE Covid symptom study app, warned that large summer events could could “potentially have a big effect” on Covid rates.
“Events like Glastonbury will drive up cases but the question is how much do they account for,” he told The Independent.
Key Points
NHS goodwill 'running dry'
Cases continue to rise
Summer events could have ‘big effect'
UK in ‘fifth wave'
Good morning
Monday 27 June 2022 09:49 , Matt Mathers
Good morning and welcome to The Independent’s rolling coverage of the Covid pandemic.
We’ll have updates throughout the day as cases rise in the UK and experts warn of a fifth wave of infections.
Stay tuned.
UK in ‘fifth wave already’ as experts warn summer events will see infections surge even higher
Monday 27 June 2022 09:49 , Matt Mathers
The UK is fighting a fifth wave of Covid as infections soar and large summer events could see cases rise even higher, experts have warned.
Coronavirus cases have increased sharply in recent weeks, with the latest figures showing 1.7 million people testing positive across the UK, a 23 per cent increase on the week before. The increase is being driven by the recent BA.4 and BA.5 variants, subvariants of Omicron.
UK in ‘fifth Covid wave’ as experts warn summer events will see new surge in cases
Calls for booster jabs by Autumn as cases continue to rise
Monday 27 June 2022 10:04 , Matt Mathers
As we’ve been reporting, Covid cases in the UK are rising as experts warn of a fifth wave.
In response, health officials are calling for further boost vaccines to be administered going into the autumn.
Professor Adam Finn, a member of the government’s Joint Committee on Immunisations and Vaccinations, said on BBC Radio Four on Monday, Covid-19 boosters will need to be rolled out as immunity to the virus gained by previous booster campaigns wanes.
Our health correspondent Rebecca Thomas has the story:
Covid UK: Calls for booster jabs by Autumn as cases continue to rise
Most infectious Covid variants as Omicron fuels rise in UK cases
Monday 27 June 2022 10:30 , Matt Mathers
Covid cases are on the rise - but which variants are driving the fifth wave of infections, and what strains are the most infectious?
My colleague Maryam Zakir-Hussain reports:
These are the most infectious Covid variants since the pandemic began
When can I get my Covid booster jab? Everything you need to know
Monday 27 June 2022 10:43 , Matt Mathers
The UK is already embroiled in a fifth wave of Covid-19 infections, experts have warned, adding that summer festivals bringing large crowds together could turn into super-spreader events if precautions are not taken.
Joe Sommerlad reports:
When can I get my Covid booster jab? Everything you need to know
Nearly all secondary school pupils have Covid antibodies - study
Monday 27 June 2022 11:03 , Matt Mathers
Nearly all secondary school-age children have Covid-19 antibodies, according to data from the School Infection Survey.
The data released on Monday also showed that the proportion of primary school parents who would be "unlikely" to vaccinate their child has risen.
The survey found an estimated 99 per cent of secondary pupils and 82 per cent of primary pupils tested positive for Covid antibodies between 3 March and 22 this year.
The testing, in its final round, found that there was "significantly higher" antibody levels in both primary and secondary pupils than during the previous round of tests in February, when 97 per cent and 62 per cent of secondary and primary pupils respectively tested positive for the antibodies.
The study also found that 78 per cent of children aged between four and seven tested positive for antibodies.
Casino hub Macau launches third round of COVID testing as infections rise
Monday 27 June 2022 11:16 , Matt Mathers
Macau launched a third round of mandatory COVID-19 testing for its more than 600,000 residents on Monday, in a push to curb a rise in infections in the world's biggest gambling hub.
Authorities in Macau have locked down multiple buildings and put more than 5,000 people in quarantine in the past few days, the city's government said. Health authorities said 38 new COVID cases were recorded on Sunday, taking the total number of infections to 299 in the latest outbreak.
Two rounds of COVID tests were conducted in Macau in the past week. The latest round is expected to end on Tuesday.
Authorities have asked people to remain at home as much as possible with most of the city effectively closed, including bars, hair salons and outdoor parks. Only takeaway is allowed from dining facilities.
Casinos, while mostly deserted, are allowed to stay open, the city's government said, in a move to protect local jobs.
How Covid is affecting Asia and other regions
Monday 27 June 2022 11:38 , Matt Mathers
Some regions in Asia sought to ease COVID-19 restrictions after a steep fall in infections, while some vaccine makers flagged positive outcomes from their Omicron-specific booster doses.
DEATHS AND INFECTIONS
ASIA-PACIFIC
* Beijing said on Saturday it would allow primary and secondary schools to resume in-person classes and Shanghai's top party boss declared victory over COVID-19 after the city reported zero new local cases for the first time in two months.
* Shanghai will gradually resume dining-in at restaurants from June 29 in low-risk areas and areas without any community-level spread of COVID-19 during the previous week, a Shanghai government official said on Sunday.
* Macau launched a third round of mandatory COVID-19 testing for its more than 600,000 residents, in a push to curb a rise in infections in the world's biggest gambling hub.
EUROPE
* The launch of BioNTech's vaccine adapted to the Omicron coronavirus variant may be delayed due to a disagreement with the regulator over the approval process, the Welt Am Sonntag (WAS) newspaper reported on Saturday.
AMERICAS
* Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE said a booster dose of updated versions of their COVID-19 vaccine, modified specifically to combat the Omicron coronavirus variant, generated a higher immune response against that variant.
AFRICA & MIDDLE EAST
* China's Sinovac Biotech said South Africa's health products regulator granted conditional registration to its coronavirus vaccine, CoronaVac, for people aged 18 and above.
MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS
* Late-stage data on an experimental COVID-19 vaccine from Sanofi and GSK has showed the shot confers protection against the Omicron variant of the virus, the companies said.
* The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it had recommended Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine for children and adolescents aged 6 to 17, allowing a rollout of the shots to begin for that age group.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
* Profits at China's industrial firms shrank at a slower pace in May following a sharp fall in April, as activity in major manufacturing hubs resumed, but COVID-19 restrictions still weighed on factory production and squeezed factory margins.
* H&M has shut its flagship Shanghai store, its latest closure in China where consumer demand has slumped amid COVID-19 lockdowns and the fast-fashion retailer has borne the brunt of a backlash against companies that refuse to use Xinjiang cotton.
Latest available government data for England
Monday 27 June 2022 11:49 , Matt Mathers
22, 293 people have had a first vaccine dose in the past seven days; 43,546 have had a second
87,147 people have tested positive in the past seven days
313 people have died within 28 days of a positive test
6,733 people admitted to hospital in the past seven days
Monday 27 June 2022 12:20 , Matt Mathers
Earlier this year, Boris Johnson removed all remaining Covid laws as part of his plan to live with the virus.
What does this mean for mask wearing? My colleague Joe Sommerlad reports:
Elderly couple kicked off Air Canada flight ‘for no reason’ demand an explanation
What is an NHS Covid pass and when do I need to use it?
Monday 27 June 2022 12:40 , Matt Mathers
Boris Johnson ended the UK government’s “Plan B” social restrictions for dealing with the Omicron variant of the coronavirus in England on 24 February 2022, apparently drawing a line under the lockdown era once and for all.
How did this impact NHS Covid passes? My colleague Joe Sommerlad takes a look:
What is an NHS Covid pass and when do I need to use it?
Pakistan orders masks on domestic flights as COVID numbers rise
Monday 27 June 2022 13:00 , Matt Mathers
Pakistan's aviation regulator has made masks mandatory on domestic flights given a gradual rise in the number of COVID-19 cases across the country, it said a statement.
The order comes a day after Pakistan's biggest city, Karachi, reported that its COVID-19 positivity ratio, or the rate of positive cases out of all tests conducted, rose to 21 per cent compared with a national rate of 2.8 per cent
"With immediate effect, mask wearing will be mandatory onboard domestic flights,"ÂÂ the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) said in the statement late on Sunday.
Pakistan has had very few COVID cases over recent months and had done away with almost all precautions.
But over the past 24 hours, the national COVID positivity ratio had risen to 2.85 per cent with 382 positive cases and two deaths, according to data released on Monday by the National Institute of Health, Islamabad.
Valneva vaccine authorised by European Commission
Monday 27 June 2022 13:20 , Matt Mathers
French Covid vaccine Valneva has been authorised by the EU Commission.
The EU drug regulator said in a statement that it had cleared Valneva’s two-dose vaccine for people aged 18 to 50.
More background on the jab here:
EU regulator authorizes COVID shot made by France's Valneva
How likely are you to catch coronavirus again as UK cases rise?
Monday 27 June 2022 13:36 , Matt Mathers
Scientists have warned a new wave of infections has begun as two Covid sub-variants have led to a surge in cases.
More than 1.7m people now have the virus in the UK, in a 23 per cent weekly increase, according to the latest figures from the Office of National Statistics. That rise is largely due to the omicron variants BA.4 and BA.5, the ONS said.
My colleague Maryam Zakir-Hussain reports:
Covid reinfections and how likely it is to catch virus again - explained
‘Significant risks’ to UK food standards ahead after Brexit and Covid – report
Monday 27 June 2022 13:58 , Matt Mathers
The UK is facing “significant risks” to its food standards following two years of upheaval, according to a new report.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Food Standards Scotland (FSS) released the first of what will be an annual report highlighting changes and challenges facing the UK’s food system.
Rebecca Speare-Cole reports:
‘Significant risks’ to UK food standards ahead after Brexit and Covid – report
Well of NHS goodwill is ‘running dry’, ministers warned
Monday 27 June 2022 14:36 , Matt Mathers
Ministers can no longer exploit “a well of goodwill which has totally run dry” to run the NHS, a British Medical Association leader will say, as he demands the Government reverse “brutal” pre-pandemic cuts to health services.
Genevieve Holl-Allen reports:
Well of NHS goodwill is ‘running dry’, ministers warned
Nine Omicron symptoms affecting the fully vaccinated - and signs you may have it
Monday 27 June 2022 15:00 , Matt Mathers
What is the Omicron variant, how infectious is it and what are its symptoms?
My colleague Maryam Zakir-Hussain takes a look below:
Nine Omicron symptoms affecting the fully vaccinated - and signs you may have it
ICYMI: UK in ‘fifth wave already’ as experts warn summer events will see infections surge even higher
Monday 27 June 2022 15:30 , Matt Mathers
The UK is fighting a fifth wave of Covid as infections soar and large summer events could see cases rise even higher, experts have warned.
Coronavirus cases have increased sharply in recent weeks, with the latest figures showing 1.7 million people testing positive across the UK, a 23 per cent increase on the week before. The increase is being driven by the recent BA.4 and BA.5 variants, subvariants of Omicron.
There are concerns that the return of mass events for the first time after the pandemic – such as Glastonbury over the weekend, Notting Hill Carnival and the Edinburgh Festival in August – will see Covid continue to spiral upward.
My colleague Thomas Kingsley has the full report:
Doctors threaten strikes over pay as new wave of Covid looms
Monday 27 June 2022 16:08 , Liam James
Doctors said they have suffered a real-terms pay cut of 30 per cent since 2008, raising the prospect of strike action as a new wave of Covid-19 threatens to put hospitals under pressure.
Members of the British Medical Association (BMA) said at their annual conference in Brighton that doctors’ pay had fallen against the RetaiI Price Index for nearly 15 years, causing a “career earnings loss amounting to millions of pounds” to each doctor.
Delegates at the conference mandated the BMA to “achieve pay restoration to 2008 value for its members within the next five years”.
“Pay restoration is the right, just and moral thing to do, but it is a significant demand and it won’t be easy to win,” said Dr Emma Runswick, presenting the conference mandate.
“Every part of the BMA needs to plan for how to achieve this.
“But I’m not foolish, I know that it’s likely that industrial action will be required to move the governments on this issue.”
Dr Runswick continued: “All around us workers are coming together in trade unions and winning big – last month bin men in Manchester 22 per cent; Gatwick airport workers won a 21 per cent pay increase two weeks ago; and in March cleaners and porters at Croydon hospital won a 24 per cent pay rise.
“Those workers got together and used a key tool that trade unions have – the ability to collectively organise, collectively negotiate and collectively withdraw our labour ... vote for this motion and I’ll see you on the picket lines.”
Covid hospital patients in England up by 37 per cent
Monday 27 June 2022 16:48 , Liam James
The number of Covid positive patients in hospitals across England has jumped by 37 per cent – up by more than 2000 in a week (Rebecca Thomas writes).
A total of 7,822 Covid positive patients are in beds across England as of Monday, the latest NHS figures show.
New admissions are on the rise with 1,011 recorded on Saturday – up by 35 per cent the week prior.
Covid hospital patients in England up by 37 per cent
ICYMI: Calls for UK booster jabs by autumn as cases continue to rise
Monday 27 June 2022 17:00 , Matt Mathers
Covid boosters will be needed in September as cases continue to rise, a government vaccines expert has warned.
Professor Adam Finn, a member of the government’s Joint Committee on Immunisations and Vaccinations, suggested a fifth jab will need to be rolled out for the most vulnerable as immunity to the virus gained by previous booster campaigns wanes.
Our health correspondent Rebecca Thomas reports:
Calls for Covid booster jabs by autumn as cases continue to rise
Omicron BA.5 growing much faster than dominant variant
Monday 27 June 2022 18:24 , Liam James
Research published by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) suggests newer variants of Covid-19 are growing faster than the dominant one, Omicron BA.2.
The latest wave of the virus is being driven by BA.4 and BA.5, which now make up more than half of all new cases in England.
BA.5 is growing approximately 35 per cent faster than BA.2 while BA.4 is growing 19 per cent faster – meaning it is likely that BA.5 will soon become the dominant variant in the country.
There is “currently no evidence” the two variants cause more serious illness than previous variants, however.
Professor Susan Hopkins, UKHSA chief medical adviser, said: “It is clear that the increasing prevalence of Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 are significantly increasing the case numbers we have observed in recent weeks.”
Covid situation elsewhere in Europe
Monday 27 June 2022 19:50 , Liam James
Britain is not the only country experiencing a surge in Covid-19 cases.
France, which lifted restrictions shortly after the UK, has been seeing more than 50,000 cases daily for more than one week, acording to John Hopkins University Covid data – higher than England’s daily recorded case load by tens of thousands.
Belgium, Denmark and the Netherlands, which, again, opened up around the same time, are also seeing rising cases, though at a much lower rate than Britain and France.
Germany, which was slower to open up and has maintained some measures such as masks on public transport, is seeing a sharp rise with more than 100,000 cases on several days in the past few weeks.
Most infectious Covid variants as Omicron fuels rise in UK cases
Monday 27 June 2022 20:20 , Liam James
Maryam Zakir-Hussain runs through the variants of Covid-19 based on how contagious they are. Everything from the original virus to the latest variant of concern is in here, putting into perspective a long two years defined by how fast the virus spread at any given time:
These are the most infectious Covid variants since the pandemic began
Latest England Covid data
Monday 27 June 2022 21:04 , Liam James
Government data up to Wednesday 22 June unless noted otherwise:
25,021 people have had a first vaccine dose in the past seven days; 47,404 have had a second
101,157 people have tested positive in the past seven days – up 33.9 per cent on last week
354 people have died within 28 days of a positive test
7,578 people admitted to hospital in the past seven days (data to Saturday 25 June) –
France seeks to bring back masks in public spaces amid Covid-19 surge
Monday 27 June 2022 21:40 , Liam James
French people should start wearing masks again in crowded areas, especially in public transport, as France has to deal with a new wave of Covid-19 fuelled by new variants of the disease, health minister Brigitte Bourguignon said.
“I’m not saying it should be mandatory but I do ask the French people to put the mask on in public transport,” she told RTL, adding it was a “civic duty” to do so.
“I’m not merely advising it, I’m asking for it,” adding face masks should also be worn again in other closed areas, such as workplaces or shops.
New infections have been steadily rising since the end of May in France, with the seven-day moving average of daily new cases more then quadrupling between the 27 May figure of 17,705 and today’s 71,018.
Five days fit for isolation, US study finds
Monday 27 June 2022 22:20 , Liam James
A new study supports current US guidelines that call for a five-day isolation period for Covid-19 infections followed by five days of strict masking to help prevent transmission from cases that remain culture positive, researchers said.
Boston University School of Medicine researchers collected daily nasal swabs for at least 10 days from 92 vaccinated college students and staff infected with the Delta or Omicron variants of the coronavirus for analysis with PCR and with the kind of rapid-antigen tests that are available for home use.
Among these young and otherwise healthy adults, only 17 per cent still tested positive after five days, and no one was infectious beyond 12 days after symptom onset, the researchers reported in Clinical Infectious Diseases.
The results were similar regardless of variant or vaccine booster status, and negative rapid antigen tests were very reliable, according to the report.
While rapid antigen testing “may provide reassurance of lack of infectiousness ... a full 10 days is necessary to prevent transmission from the 17 per cent of individuals who remain culture positive after isolation,” study leader Dr Tara Bouton said in a statement.
Reuters
NHS patients asked to travel for treatment to help clear two-year hospital waiting lists
Monday 27 June 2022 23:00 , Liam James
Patients who have been waiting more than two years for treatment will be given the choice of travelling to another area to get it more quickly under plans to clear NHS clear up waiting lists.
Health service bosses described the move as a “final push” to “virtually eliminate” the number of people who have been waiting 24 months to be seen by a medic, the number of which has fallen from a peak of 22,500 in January to 6,700 after the Covid-19 pandemic caused waiting lists to mount.
Amanda Pritchard, NHS England chief executive, said the plan was “ambitious” but staff were “on track” to meet the target by the end of next month.
More than 400 people have agreed to travel to take up the offer and the NHS said it will cover travel and accommodation costs to patients “where appropriate”.
NHS patients asked to travel for treatment to help clear two-year waiting lists
Covid hospital patients in England up by 37 per cent
Tuesday 28 June 2022 00:00 , Liam James
Hospital beds taken up by Covid patients have surged by 37 per cent, as experts warn the UK has hit its fifth wave (Rebecca Thomas and Thomas Kingsley write).
The number of Covid positive patients in hospitals across England has jumped to 7,822 - up by more than 2000 in a week.
New NHS data has revealed the number of positive patients within critical care as of Monday also jumped to 192 – up from 150 the week prior.
The figures come as experts warn the UK has hit its fifth wave and could spell trouble for the NHS which is already facing winter levels of demand.
Professor Tim Spector, of the ZOE Covid symptom study app, told The Independent: “We’re in a wave at the moment ... heading towards a quarter of a million cases a day, that’s a wave already.
“Having our NHS, which already on its knees, working like it’s in the middle of winter, we’re getting up to 1,000 hospitalisations a day now, it’s not good news, that figure is going to go up.”
Covid hospital patients in England up by 37 per cent
Tuesday 28 June 2022 00:10 , Liam James
This will be the end of The Independent’s live coverage of Covid-19 for tonight.
For the latest on the pandemic in Britain, our health correspondent Rebecca Thomas has this update.
We will be bringing you more updates tomorrow.
