According to official data, 1.7 million people were infected with Covid in any one day last week. One in twenty Londonites was infected at Omicron Hotspot London.
Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), revealed that the rate of infections during the week ending December 19, increased by 55% compared to the previous week’s total of 1.1million infected people each day.
This figure has risen by 300,000 per hour in three days. The ONS infection survey yesterday estimated that approximately 1.4million had been infected in each of the seven-day period ending December 16.
The supermutant variant of the virus was responsible, according to statistics. But infections continue to grow at a rapid pace as expected by SAGE models.
The capital saw the largest increase, according to the report. Ten of England’s worst-hit postcodes are located in a 1-mile area between Wandsworth & Lambeth.
The ten areas have an average infection rate of 3619 cases per 100,000 people, compared to 838 per 100,000 in the rest of the country.
It comes as MailOnline analysis revealed nearly 900,000 people could be forced to spend Christmas Day in self-isolation after catching Covid in the past 10 days.
A total of 766,000 people across the UK have tested positive for the virus since December 16 — the cut-off date for coming out of quarantine in time.
And current trends suggest 125,000 more Britons will be diagnosed today as the ultra-infectious Omicron variant pushes cases to record numbers, with more than 100,000 people testing positive daily for the last two days.
ENGLAND. The ONS Covid-19 Survey estimated that around 1.5million people were infected with Covid during the week up to December 19. It was 65% higher than last week.
Map depicts: Based on official UK Health Security Agency data, the confirmed Covid cases per 100,000 residents in different areas of the UK.
A UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) report became the fourth study to show the new strain causes less severe illness, suggesting the variant is between 50 and 70 per cent less likely to cause hospital admission and up to 45 per cent less likely to result in a person going to A&E
The ONS survey showed around one in 35 people in private households in England had Covid in the week to December 19 — up from one in 45 in the seven days to December 16.
This estimate is approximately 1.5 million and the largest for England since May 2020 when the ONS started estimating the community infected levels.
This rises to about one in twenty people in London who are likely to be positive for Covid-19. It is the highest percentage for any English region, according to the ONS.
North-east England was the least affected, with around 1 in 55.
According to the ONS, Covid infections compatible in Omicron are increasing in England in regions with “substantial regional variation”, with London having the highest and North East the lowest.
Esther Sutherland is a senior statistician at the Covid-19 Infection Survey. She stated that the latest statistics show an increase in infection rates across the UK and within all age groups.
The increase was most noticeable in London, where data suggests that 1/20 people have Covid-19 within the past week.
“The Omicron variation’s rapid spread suggests that it is important in current trends,” said ‘The figures’
According to Dr Jenny Harries, chief executive of UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), the latest data suggests Omicron is less likely than Delta to cause serious illness. This gives rise to a “glimmering of Christmas hope.”
She warned, however that the strain is not yet under control and is rapidly spreading across the UK.
BBC Radio 4’s Today broadcaster Dr Harries said that there is more information needed about the impacts on vulnerable elderly patients.
She said, “There’s a little bit of Christmas hope in yesterday’s findings. But it’s not yet enough to downgrade this serious threat.”
The UKHSA estimates that someone with Omicron is between 31 per cent and 45 per cent less likely to attend A&E and 50 per cent to 70 per cent less likely to be admitted to hospital than an individual with the Delta variant.
Omicron is now the most widespread strain of Omicron in Britain. Harries says Omicron cases have doubled across all regions.
Dr Harries added: ‘What we have got now is a really fine balance between something that looks like a lower risk of hospitalisation — which is great news — but equally a highly transmissible variant and one that we know evades some of our immune defences, so it is a very balanced position.’
Westminster speculates that there will be further restrictions on Christmas in England based upon the UKHSA data.