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1.25pm BST
The spread of Covid-19 in the UK is continuing to rise, with data suggesting as many as 1 in 130 people had the disease in the community in England alone in the previous week.
According to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics, based on swabs from randomly chosen households, there were about 35,200 new cases per day in the community in England between 10-16 October.
The data, the team adds, suggests at any given time that week around 1 in 130 people had Covid-19 – a total of about 433,300 people. That’s a rise from 1 in 160 people – a total of 336,500 infected people – for the previous week, and a total of 224,400 the week before that.
Steven Riley, professor of infectious disease dynamics at Imperial College London who was not involved in the survey said the situation is concerning.
Prevalence is high and still increasing rapidly. There may be some sign of a slight slowdown, but, given the urgent need for prevalence to start to go down, we should not focus on small reductions in a still positive growth rate.
Even though rates in those younger populations are dropping slightly, they remain high whilst rates in older and more vulnerable groups are increasing rapidly.
There is widespread community transmission all around the UK, with around 1000 people being hospitalised with Covid-19 every day. We can expect to see higher numbers of hospitalisations and deaths from Covid-19 across November.
1.20pm BST
A request made by Oxfordshire city council to move from tier 1 into tier 2 amid concern over rising numbers of infections among the vulnerable and elderly was refused by the UK government, it has emerged.
In a statement posted on Twitter, the council leader, Susan Brown, said there was disappointment from local council leaders of all parties, who had backed the recommendation made by Oxfordshire’s director of public health.
Statement from Cllr Susan Brown, Leader of Oxford City Council on the decision by the Government not to move Oxfordshire to Tier 2.
Find out more: https://t.co/PCrbz8fkVS pic.twitter.com/16JdrPYxuj
Public health must be the priority but coronavirus rates in much of Oxfordshire, outside of the city of Oxford, remain low. We would be concerned about the prospect of individuals and businesses in wider Oxfordshire being placed under Tier 2 restrictions on the basis of a problem that appears centred on the student population in Oxford city.
Across all areas of the county, we are starting to see a significant shift in the spread of the virus from people in their teens and 20s to older and more vulnerable age groups. This is a really concerning development. We know that, once the virus starts to spread to more vulnerable groups, then hospital cases will rise and deaths will inevitably follow.
We have seen what’s been happening across the north of England and how the virus has quickly taken hold across huge swathes of the community. Based on the current trajectory of the virus, we could well find ourselves in a similar position in just a few weeks’ time if we do not take collective action now.
Continue reading…Five-level lockdown unveiled for Scotland; England death rate rises for first time since April, figures show; Warrington reaches deal with governmentOne in 10 UK workers asked to work by bosses during furloughTesting sewage for Covid could detect outbreaks early, scientists sayPM admits failings as England’s contact-tracing system hits new lowGlobal coronavirus updates – liveSee all our coronavirus coverage 1.25pm BSTThe spread of Covid-19 in the UK is continuing to rise, with data suggesting as many as 1 in 130 people had the disease in the community in England alone in the previous week.According to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics, based on swabs from randomly chosen households, there were about 35,200 new cases per day in the community in England between 10-16 October.The data, the team adds, suggests at any given time that week around 1 in 130 people had Covid-19 – a total of about 433,300 people. That’s a rise from 1 in 160 people – a total of 336,500 infected people – for the previous week, and a total of 224,400 the week before that.Steven Riley, professor of infectious disease dynamics at Imperial College London who was not involved in the survey said the situation is concerning.Prevalence is high and still increasing rapidly. There may be some sign of a slight slowdown, but, given the urgent need for prevalence to start to go down, we should not focus on small reductions in a still positive growth rate.Even though rates in those younger populations are dropping slightly, they remain high whilst rates in older and more vulnerable groups are increasing rapidly.There is widespread community transmission all around the UK, with around 1000 people being hospitalised with Covid-19 every day. We can expect to see higher numbers of hospitalisations and deaths from Covid-19 across November. 1.20pm BSTA request made by Oxfordshire city council to move from tier 1 into tier 2 amid concern over rising numbers of infections among the vulnerable and elderly was refused by the UK government, it has emerged.In a statement posted on Twitter, the council leader, Susan Brown, said there was disappointment from local council leaders of all parties, who had backed the recommendation made by Oxfordshire’s director of public health.Statement from Cllr Susan Brown, Leader of Oxford City Council on the decision by the Government not to move Oxfordshire to Tier 2.Find out more: https://t.co/PCrbz8fkVS pic.twitter.com/16JdrPYxujPublic health must be the priority but coronavirus rates in much of Oxfordshire, outside of the city of Oxford, remain low. We would be concerned about the prospect of individuals and businesses in wider Oxfordshire being placed under Tier 2 restrictions on the basis of a problem that appears centred on the student population in Oxford city.Across all areas of the county, we are starting to see a significant shift in the spread of the virus from people in their teens and 20s to older and more vulnerable age groups. This is a really concerning development. We know that, once the virus starts to spread to more vulnerable groups, then hospital cases will rise and deaths will inevitably follow.We have seen what’s been happening across the north of England and how the virus has quickly taken hold across huge swathes of the community. Based on the current trajectory of the virus, we could well find ourselves in a similar position in just a few weeks’ time if we do not take collective action now. Continue reading…