England’s COVID-19 infection is “flattened” but still so high that a new study was found-The New Indian Express

Along PTI

London: UK coronavirus infections have leveled off with signs of decline, but remain very high, according to the latest findings from a study sponsored by the UK government on Thursday.

A survey of COVID-19 infections in the country by a real-time assessment of community infections (REACT) at Imperial College London and Ipsosmori found that infections in the general population from January 6 to 22 were the highest since last year. I did.

In the UK, the United Kingdom National Health Service (NHS) is under great pressure, with more than 37,000 people infected with the virus, double the first peak in April 2020, and 4,076 using ventilators. doing. In a pandemic.

“These findings clearly remind us that we need to be vigilant. Such high infection rates continue to burden the NHS and are already facing significant pressure on dedicated health care staff. “We will increase,” said Matt Hancock, UK Health Minister.

“We have to get an infection right away, so we strongly encourage everyone to play their part to save lives. Stay at home and the rules of social distance unless absolutely necessary. Therefore, we need to minimize contact with others, “he said.

The levels of infection recorded by REACT varied in different parts of England, the highest in London, infecting 1 in 35 people, and the highest nationally among people aged 18-24.

We also found that blacks or Asians, and people living in large households or poor areas, were more likely to be positive than others.

Healthcare and care home workers, as well as other major workers, were also more likely to be infected than other workers.

Other important findings from this month’s eighth REACT study show that the national prevalence of coronavirus is 1.57%, or 157 per 10,000 infected.

The national R rate, or the rate at which infected individuals transmit the infection, is estimated to be 0.98, with a range of 0.92 to 1.04, which is still very high.

“The number of people infected with the virus is the highest ever since we started testing in May last year,” said Professor Paul Elliott, program director at Imperial College London.

“There is no sharp reduction in infectious diseases that occurred in the first blockade, and without a significant reduction in infectious diseases, hospitals cannot keep up with the number of people in need of critical care. We all stay. It needs to help control the virus at home as much as possible and protect the already overextended healthcare system. “

Scientists say the vaccine program continues to expand to protect as many people as possible, with more than 6.8 million people currently vaccinated in the UK, but vaccination has caused someone else to get the virus. It is still unclear whether it will prevent it from infecting humans.

In addition, it will take some time before the pressure on the hospital is reduced due to the effects of the vaccination program. Therefore, continuous blockade restrictions are important.

“The latest REACT snapshot of Round 8 continues to show very high levels of Covid-19 at the national level, but this remains a concern. In the last few days of the study, we saw suggestions for a recession. However, Kelly Beaver, Managing Director of Public Relations at Ipsosmori, said:

As part of the survey, more than 167,000 randomly selected people over the age of 5 from all over the UK volunteered to provide nose and throat swabs for this REACT report.

These have been tested for antigens that indicate the presence of the virus and indicate whether someone is currently infected with COVID-19.

This study did not target the same participants in each round, but selected new participants randomly selected each time to capture both those who showed symptoms and those who did not, and nationwide. Provides deeper insight into the level of infection in.

The latest findings show that the UK has reached 101,887 this week, surpassing 100,000 fatal virus deaths, and scrutinizing new variants of the deadly coronavirus in other parts of the world. This has led to stricter international travel measures.

Britain continues to be subject to strict curfew, Prime Minister Boris Johnson in the House of Commons on Wednesday, blockade continued until February, school reopened as normal first sign, expected until March 8 He said it was an outside move.