Britain is now going through its third major wave of Covid-19 infections this year. According to the ONS Infection Survey released last week, about 1.7 million people in the UK are estimated to have been infected in the week ending 18 June, a 23% rise on the previous week. This follows a 43% jump the previous week. The figures raise several important questions about how the nation will fare in the coming months as it struggles to contain the disease.
Most scientists and statisticians pin the latest jump on two fast-spreading Omicron sub-variants: BA.4 and BA.5. Crucially, two other countries – Portugal and South Africa – have experienced major jumps in numbers of cases due to these two sub-variants.
The waves in these countries have since peaked and neither resulted in a major increase in severe disease. Nevertheless, we should note there were some increases in hospitalisations,” said John Edmunds, professor of infectious disease modelling at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. “The rise we are experiencing now is certainly not good news but it does not look, at present, like it has the potential to lead to disaster
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