These are the British Coronavirus stories you need to know today.
PHE changes daily death methodology
Public Health England (PHE) Fixed the way COVID-19’s daily deaths are summarized After an inquiry ordered by Secretary of Health Matt Hancock. This change reduced cumulative daily deaths by 5377.
Unlike the rest of the UK, England had no time limits for recording COVID-positive deaths. This means that unrelated deaths were recorded as coronavirus-related because the patient had previously tested positive, and no one has recorded recovery.
Oxford Evidence-based medical centers I found an abnormality. The amendment calculates that the current moving average is reduced to approximately 10 deaths per day.
When comparing the death toll in Europe, the United Kingdom and the United Kingdom, it exceeds Italy.
PHE found that 96% of deaths due to COVID-19 in the ground occurred within 60 days or COVID-19 was listed on the death certificate, but 88% of deaths occurred within 28 days Said he did.
In a statement, PHE’s Director of Health Improvement Professor John Newton said in a statement: “The UK COVID-19 patient mortality counting method was first selected to avoid underestimating viral mortality in the early stages of a pandemic.
“After analyzing the long-term effects of the infection, we are able to move to a new method, which provides important information about both recent trends and overall mortality from COVID-19. .”
Commenting via the Science Media Center, Professor David Spiegelhalter, Chairman of the University of Cambridge Winton Risk and Evidence Communication Center, commented: “The 28-day limit is an improvement over what is currently reported, but excludes those who die, even if the death certificate says COVID, more than a month after the test. It seems even better to include deaths for up to 60 days, and subsequent deaths from COVID registration, but excludes those who were not tested.
“This is a complex area, there is no truly “correct” number. ONS figures based on registration should be considered the best available, but of course do not include extra deaths without COVID in the certificate. “
“My real concern lies in the media and communication with the general public. PHE has been consistently poor at revealing both the people involved as COVID deaths and the inevitable delays in reporting, Their dashboard shows that the daily count is the actual number of deaths the day before, which impacts the number of media reports and at this stage of the epidemic the reported and actual daily numbers may differ significantly. Therefore, it may be misleading.
“I long for PHE to do more to prevent misunderstandings, but I am in the difficult situation of further complicating the diversity of COVID mortality statistics.”
PHE reported 77 British COVID-19 deaths yesterday, bringing the total to 46,706. Under the new methodology revised to 20 daily deaths and a total of 41,329 people.
NHS performance
Despite the NHS England’s emphasis on being open to business, the latest Monthly performance index The Health Foundation has shown that after COVID-19, there is no closer business than usual.
“Today’s data show that after the first outbreak of COVID-19, the NHS is still nowhere near business as usual,” commented senior policymaker Tim Gardner. “At the end of June, almost half (48%) of all people waiting for planned hospitalization treatment were waiting above the 18-week threshold. Since the criteria were set in 2012, historically Worst performance: Number of patients referred to specialists Treatment and start of treatment have increased since last month, including suspicion of cancer, but well below normal levels.”
Sarah Scobie, Deputy Director of Research at Nuffield Trust, said: “These numbers are a serious warning to the hope that the NHS in the UK will be able to return planned care to normal before the winter season. Outpatient numbers are one-third the normal number. It’s a difficult order to return to 100% by September.”
Professor Carol Sikola, Comments on cancer problems for Medscape UK, Tweeted: “Encouraging to see urgent referrals for cancer is rising again, but they’re still nowhere where they need to be. Many people who develop cancer and who have no idea I’m afraid there are many.”
Dr. Cha and Nagpaul, Chairman of the BMA Board of Directors, commented: Watches that provide care in increasingly difficult situations. “
New England Appearance Tracking App
An attempt by NHS England to create a second functioning contact tracing smartphone app will be attempted on the Isle of Wight, the same test site used for the first failing app.
Newham is in London, and NHS volunteer respondents are also involved.
The new version uses Apple/Google protocols and Bluetooth technology without central data collection. Northern Ireland Launched a similar system At the end of July.
Upon entering some buildings, the user will be required to scan the QR “Venue Check-in” code to alert them of the occurrence.
Matt Hancock, Secretary of Health in England, said: “We’ve worked with technology companies, international partners, privacy and healthcare professionals to develop apps that are easy to use, safe, and help keep our country safe.”
Chair of Testing and Tracing Baroness Dardharding admitted: “There is no silver bullet when it comes to working with coronaviruses. This app is a big step forward, and we’re doing everything we do to reach more people across the country. Complementing the work, their community is working towards our vision of helping more people return to the most normal lives possible with the lowest risk.”
Latest in england Test and trace statistics There was little change in performance until August 5, with 79.7% of the positive cases mentioning the use of the service and being asked to provide information about their contacts. Of these, we reached 74.2% and were required to self-separate.
BMA Survey Highlights Long COVID Challenge
The latest data from a BMA member survey of 4120 respondents show a long-term COVID-19 symptom, termed long-term COVID, at significant levels in both patients and physicians.
It was found that 31% were seeing or treating patients with symptoms that they believed were the long-term effects of COVID-19. These include chronic fatigue, loss of motor ability, weakness, loss of smell, dizziness, and concentration problems.
About a quarter of doctors believe they have COVID-19, with 12% being laboratory confirmed and 14% not being confirmed.
Dr. David Strain, Co-Chair of the BMA Medical Academic Staff Committee, said: “The increasing evidence that COVID-19 patients can suffer from long-term symptoms, regardless of the severity of the initial infection, requires in-depth studies to understand the optimal treatment, and, if possible, How do you prevent it from happening in the first place?
“Until this is known, it is essential that the government and the NHS do more to protect the medical community from infectious diseases.”
NHS Worker Mortality Survey
Medical inspectors in England and Wales retrospectively investigate the deaths of COVID-19 in hundreds of medical and care workers. Independent report.
They are asked to state whether there is reason to suspect that the infection was acquired by employment. This may also lead to health and safety management investigations.
That’s the words of Dr. Rinesh Parmar, chair of the British Medical Association, who says the move is a “positive step” but requires a full investigation of coroners on the deaths of all health workers. ..
Children account for 1% of COVID-19 cases
According to a published Public Health England (PHE) study, children account for only 1% of confirmed COVID-19 cases Childhood Illness Archive..
Using UK PHE, NHS, and GP data, the study found that:
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On average, children who were virus-positive were nearly 6 years old
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53% of cases are male
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Number of tests and positive results were highest in infants, especially <3 months, and 1 year old
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COVID-19 child mortality was estimated to be less than 0.5%
The authors conclude: “Despite the large number of children tested, children accounted for a very small proportion of confirmed cases. SARS-CoV-2 positivity was found in children with ARI. Even was low [acute respiratory infection].. Our findings provide further evidence for the role of children in SARS-CoV-2 infection and transmission. “
Jonathan Ball, a professor of molecular virology at Nottingham University, commented: Another study found that children, especially young children, had minimal and often no symptoms of SARS2 infection. Therefore, it is less surprising that the confirmed cases of COVID-19 do not include children. It is not a significant cause of infection, but the evidence here does not really fully support it. This study did not examine the infectivity of children. “
3.4m people in Britain had COVID-19, research suggests
Imperial College London REACT-2 research Based on home finger prick tests of more than 100,000 volunteers, it is suggested that 3.4 m people in the UK have COVID-19. This is 6% of the population.
Health care workers (12%) were more likely to be infected than non-key workers (5%).
There were regional differences, with 13% of antibody carriers in London and less than 3% in the southwest.
Differences in ethnicity were also reported with antibodies in 17% of black volunteers, 12% of Asians and other minorities, and 5% of white participants.
Research professor Graham Cook commented:
“These data will be important as decisions. [are taken] To relax Britain’s blockade restrictions”
Pollution and COVID-19 link?
Previous studies have suggested an association with long-term exposure to air pollution, more severe COVID symptoms, and greater risk of death. However, the association has not been confirmed National Bureau of Statistics the study.
Especially in London, the early cases were in more polluted areas, but the trend later leveled off.
The modeling found that “when controlling ethnicity, exposure to air pollution has no statistically significant effect on COVID-19 mortality”.
Overall, “clarifying the factors” requires more work, “after all, our analysis is not conclusive.”
Mandatory wearing face covers in more settings in most of the UK Us data. At the time of departure, we found that the percentage of adults covering the face was 96% for two consecutive weeks.
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