Covid deaths rising again with 39% surge in a week – as cases sweep UK

COVID deaths are rising again as current figures show a surge of 39 per cent in a week.

It comes as infection rates have continued to climb – with several areas becoming hotspots.

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Fresh data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revealed that in the week up to October 7, there were 400 deaths registered.

This refers to deaths with Covid on the certificate, so this means that these patients may have already been living with another health condition as well as having contracted the bug.

It’s up by 39 per cent from deaths recorded in the week up to September 30, which sat at 287.

While this is a large jump, numbers have not yet come close to those seen during the January wave in 2021, when sadly, weekly deaths reached 8,500.

The figures released today are also lower than those seen in the seven days to July 29, when 810 deaths were logged.

The massive vaccine rollout across the country has helped protect millions of people from severe illness.

The majority of Brits have had their jabs and this coupled with the fact that Omicron is a milder strain of Covid, has helped keep fatalities down.

The data today comes after ONS figures on Friday revealed that cases had climbed by 30 per cent in the last week.

Meanwhile, figures from the UK Health Security Agency showed that areas such as Leeds, Wiltshire and Cornwall have some of the highest numbers of cases in the country.

Just last week medics warned Brits to stay away from the most vulnerable in society if they were feeling unwell.

Dr Mary Ramsay, Director of Public Health Programmes at the UKHSA said there were early indications that deaths with Covid-19 had started to rise.

“Whilst this is concerning, it is too early to say whether these are deaths due to Covid-19 and it is reassuring that at this stage there is no overall excess mortality.

“If you are unwell or have symptoms of a respiratory infection, it is particularly important to avoid contact with elderly people or those who are more likely to have severe disease because of their ongoing health conditions,” she said.

Her comments came following he Government’s Weekly Flu and Covid report.

These figures revealed that there had been a small increase with over 500 (597) deaths being recorded in the week beginning October 3 – up from around 400 in the week beginning September 5.

Last December, figures rose rapidly as the Omicron wave took hold in the UK.

NEW THREAT?

Now experts in Singapore have warned of a new subvariant that has already made its way to 17 countries.

Medics have dubbed it XBB and in Singapore, cases have more than doubled from 4,719 on October 10, to 11,732.

Medics think that the subvariant is responsible for the rapid increase.

Cases have been on the up globally recently, as the winter months draw in – prompting a rise in respiratory issues.

It’s not yet clear if the subvariant has made its way to the UK, but medics have warned against the severity of XBB.

Amesh Adalja, a public-health expert at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security said: “It is likely the most immune-evasive [subvariant] and poses problems for current monoclonal antibody-based treatments and prevention strategy.

“Even with immune-evasive variants, vaccine protection against what matters most – severe disease – remains intact.”

One of the best ways to stay protected is to come forward for your vaccines – a message the UKHSA has reinforced.

In a statement Dr Meera Chand, Director of Clinical and Emerging Infections at the UKHSA said: “UKHSA continues to monitor and assess all emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants, both in the UK and around the world.

“As we head into winter and cases rise, make sure you have any COVID-19 vaccinations you are eligible for and avoid contact with others if you are unwell or have symptoms of a respiratory infection.”