Where is the virus when the NHS Covid app is shut down?

ITV News Multimedia Producer Daniel Boal

Since September 2020, the NHS Covid app has told us which countries are safe to travel to, how close we can be to our loved ones and whether we will be able to return home for Christmas.

Well, on April 27th, the app will be turned off.

Over half a million people in the UK to be ‘alarmed’ by NHS at peak in mid-2021 Covid-19 app in a week.

Despite criticisms about its cost and efficiency, the app is estimated to have saved many lives.

But is the pandemic really over?

Germany’s health minister has already moved to declare the pandemic over. US President Joe Biden also ended the country’s emergency response to the virus.

However, the UK government has not taken an official position.

Covid cases in the UK

More than 500 million tests have been reported since Covid reached the UK in early 2020, and more than 9 in 10 people over the age of 12 have received at least two doses of the vaccine.

Covid-related deaths in the UK have exceeded 220,000.

The latest figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that the number of people suffering and dying from Covid is far from 2021 levels, but hospitalizations are up at the end of March.

Associated deaths were similar, with 619 deaths recorded in the week to 17 March from the previous week, when 605 deaths were recorded.

As of March 23, the estimated percentage of people in the general household who have tested positive for coronavirus are:

• 2.66% (1 in 40) in England

• 2.41% (1 in 40) in Wales

• 1.42% (1 in 70) in Northern Ireland

• 2.59% (1 in 40) in Scotland

However, these figures are far from the 2021 peak and are believed to be due to the vaccination program deployed by the NHS.

booster jab

The app may have stopped, but the covid booster jab rollout hasn’t stopped.

With hundreds of thousands of vaccination appointments now available through the NHS, millions of people will be eligible for the spring Covid-19 booster.

In total, about 5 million people will be eligible for boosters until the end of June.

This includes people over the age of 75 and people over the age of 5 with weakened immune systems, in parallel with a vaccination program in nursing homes that started two weeks ago.

Hospitalizations due to Covid-19 remain highest among those aged 75 and over, currently at 34.9 per 100,000 for those aged 75-84 and 74.5 per 100,000 for those aged 85 and over.Steve Russell, NHS Director of Immunization and Screening, said: “

What about new variants?

new COVID The subspecies that caused a surge in infections in India has prompted health officials to reintroduce mask-wearing mandates and start practicing mock exams.

Two Indian states, Haryana and Kerala, have reintroduced mask-wearing in public due to Arcturus, a subspecies of Omicron.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that ‘Arcturus’ (clinically referred to as XBB.1.16) has spread across India.

Experts believe this new variant may be more contagious than previous Omicron variants. “Kraken” This led to a rapid rise in Covid cases in the US earlier this year.

However, the UK Health and Security Agency advises: We are monitoring the situation closely.

“Vaccination remains our best defense against the upcoming Covid-19 wave, so it is as important as ever that people get all the doses they are entitled to as soon as possible. ”

What now?

Deactivating the app is easy, but stopping Covid cases is not so easy.

Thousands of people are still dealing with the virus, while others are battling the long effects of Covid.

Covid-focused wards are a reminder that the pandemic may be past its peak, but the virus is here to stay.

Vaccines effectively reduced the impact of infection on hospitalizations and deaths, but the new variant is much more contagious, according to the ONS.

Hospitalization rates and deaths associated with COVID-19 are now lower than in the early days of the pandemic, despite similar or higher infection levels.

And while governments may not have officially declared the pandemic officially over, cutbacks in Covid-specific infrastructure such as testing and tracing suggest it may be headed in that direction. I’m here.

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