Politics
Official Covid R rate up AGAIN – and could be as high as 1.3 in Indian variant hotspot
THE official R rate in England could be as high as 1.3 in the North West – which has been hit hard by the Indian variant.
It comes amid fears June 21’s “Freedom Day” could be delayed, if cases keep going up and variants cause havoc.
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Brits have been urged to be cautious as the country opens back up[/caption]
Whether or not the next stage of the roadmap will go ahead is currently is not decided, but there is mounting pressure from scientists to hold back.
But this week Boris Johnson said he would still today still pressing on with plans to end lockdown this month – despite warning the decisive data was still “ambiguous”.
It comes as the UK is at the “start of a Covid epidemic in the young”, according to data, and hotspots threaten the lockdown lifting on June 21.
As millions of people under 30 wait for their jab, infections are spreading rapidly, according to new data.
Prof Tim Spector, a genetic epidemiologist at King’s College London who leads the ZOE study, said: “The data highlights that the increase is happening in the younger age groups, suggesting the start of an epidemic in the young.
“We can’t be too complacent, and we are monitoring things closely.”
The R rate in England is now 1.0 to 1.2. according to Government advisers at Sage. Last week Sage said the value was 1.0 to 1.1.
An R rate below 1.0 is favoured because it means that the outbreak is still shrinking.
R-ISING RATE
It peaked on January 15 at between 1.2 and 1.3, came down to a low of 0.6 to 0.8 in mid-March, before creeping up again over the past few weeks since Brits were given more freedoms.
There are fears the Indian variant and a mutated version of the strain, dubbed the “Nepal variant” will force “Freedom Day” to be delayed, after cases doubled in a week.
But teens aged 12 to 15 will be able to sign up to get a Pfizer vaccine when their slot comes to get jabbed – after approval was confirmed today.
Dr June Raine, MHRA Chief Executive said: “We have carefully reviewed clinical trial data in children aged 12 to 15 years and have concluded that the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective in this age group and that the benefits of this vaccine outweigh any risk.
“We have in place a comprehensive safety surveillance strategy for monitoring the safety of all UK-approved COVID-19 vaccines and this surveillance will include the 12- to 15-year age group.”
It comes as the Office for National Statistics published new data showing the Indian (Delta) and Kent (Alpha) variants have seen an increase in cases in hotspots.
The Indian variant has risen in England, while cases of the Kent variant have increased in Wales.
The ONS estimates 85,600 people, or 0.16 per cent, in England had Covid in the week running up to May 29.
Areas in the North West, East Midlands, and South West saw a rise in infections, with the West Midlands and London starting to see a possible increase.
Adding to the fears the UK is seeing the pandemic hit the youth now, the new data also showed an increase in positive cases in Year 7 to Year 11 schoolkids.
Sarah Crofts, Head of Analytical Outputs for the COVID-19 Infection Survey, said: “Our figures today show a mixed picture across the UK.
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“Although infections remain low, the percentage of those testing positive for COVID-19 has increased slightly in England and we are seeing early signs of an increase in Wales. The trends are uncertain in Northern Ireland and Scotland.
“We are also seeing an increase in England in the percentage of cases compatible with the Delta variant first identified in India.
“Analysing these trends will be key over the next few weeks as we monitor the impact of the variants in different regions.”
