Still NO spike in Covid deaths: Just FIVE more virus fatalities were recorded in England and Wales last week - despite cases having more than DOUBLED over the past month
- A total of 166 Covid fatalities were recorded in the latest data from England and Wales, a minuscule increase
- There have been concerns that a recent surge in cases will translate to more deaths, but this hasn't happened
- Experts said vaccines and previous infection have blunted Covid making deaths less likely even as cases soar
Covid deaths in England and Wales remain below 25 per day despite infections having almost doubled over the past month, Government data shows.
Advocates of No10's strategy, which saw the final pandemic-era restrictions axed in April, have hailed the figures as more proof that the darkest days of the pandemic are over and that new economically-damaging curbs aren't needed.
Yet critics of the approach have already called for a return of mask wearing and for Brits to avoid meeting indoors because of the virus' resurgence.
Office for National Statistics (
ONS) data released today show there were 166 Covid deaths registered across the two countries in the week ending June 24. This was barely a change on the 161 logged in the previous seven-day spell.
For comparison, this is just a fraction of April's toll, when cases soared to pandemic highs and deaths peaked at 740.
The figures don't reflect the total number of deaths because they look specifically at fatalities due to the virus, as opposed to ones where Covid may have contributed. Although, even when including these deaths which 'involve' the virus, the toll is still only 285 — barely a quarter of levels seen earlier in the year.
And the impact of the current surge in infections may not be felt for another fortnight, given how long it takes for the infected to become seriously ill.
However, there has yet to be any noticeable uptick in intensive care admissions — bolstering the argument that sky-high immunity rates from vaccines and repeated waves have drastically blunted the threat of the virus, rendering it into something that resembles the flu.
Hospitalisations have, however, trebled over the past month, with roughly 1,500 virus-infected patients now being taken to wards every day.
Trust bosses fear Britain's uptick, which shows no signs of slowing yet, will jeopardise efforts to tackle the record backlogs that built-up during the pandemic. Surging cases can trigger a rise in staff absences and pile extra pressure on hospitals because infected patients still need to be isolated.
Government advisers also fear the resurgence will eclipse April's wave, when virus admissions spiralled to above 2,500-a-day. If that does happen, it means hospitalisations will hit an 18-month high.
NHS figures suggest only a fraction of these patients are primarily ill with Covid, however, in another sign of how vaccines have changed the course of the pandemic.
Roughly 2.3million Britons had Covid in the week ending June 24 — up by a third on the previous seven-day spell. Even though rates are climbing quickly, they remain a fraction of levels seen in past peaks.
BA.4 and BA.5 are thought to be even more infectious than their ancestral versions. However, they are just as mild.
Celebrations for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee, half-term holidays and warm weather are also thought to be fuelling the latest surge. Some have also pointed to Britons mistaking Covid symptoms for hay fever.
Ministers have no plans to bring back any restrictions yet, although Boris Johnson has left the door open to future measures.
Infectious disease specialists, including members of the Government's SAGE panel, are confident that the darkest days of the UK's Covid battle are over.
Professor John Edmunds, an influential member of SAGE's notorious modelling committee, said he was 'not overly worried' about the rising cases last month.
Professor Lawrence Young, a virologist from Warwick University, told MailOnline today: 'The hospitalisation figures show an increase but fortunately this is not translating into deaths.'
He added, however, that high infection levels could still produce challenges, especially for those most at risk from Covid.
'Vaccination and the sheer levels of infection are providing overall protection but, faced with the continued threat of new variants, we do need to be conscious of the risk this poses to the elderly and clinically vulnerable,' he said.
Professor Paul Hunter, an expert in infectious diseases from the University of East Anglia, said while it was too early to draw conclusions about the current Covid surge on deaths, the current data was encouraging.
'Currently about three out of every 10,000 infections are dying, compared to 14 out of every 10,000 a year ago,' he said.
He also said he was 'almost certain' the darkest days of the Covid pandemic were behind us.
'When you look at people in hospital because of Covid or at deaths with Covid on death certificate the March/April wave saw fewer severe outcomes than the December/January wave despite March/April seeing quite a lot more infections,' he said.
'This is a trend that likely will continue.'
The ONS fatality figures, although still low, do show a slight uptick when looking at all Covid deaths.
A total of 285 Covid 'involved' deaths were recorded the week ending June 24, an increase of 21 compared to previous seven days.
Deaths involving the the virus have been predicted to rise due to the spread of Covid in the community.
Intensive care admissions for the virus, another key metric of the Covid pandemic, have also yet to dramatically increase in line with cases.
NHS England data shows there these were 223 of these patients, which are considered to the most severely ill with the virus, as of yesterday. This is a 16 per cent hike on the week prior but still well behind previous peaks this year.
Over 700 ICU admissions for Covid were recorded per day across a 10-day period in January.
Infections in all four nations of the UK are rising, with levels in England back to where they were in late April. Up to one in 18 people are infected in the worst hit parts of the UK.
The surge in cases has prompted Independent Sage to call for masks to be worn in public, more Covid jabs to be dished out as well as increased ventilation in indoor spaces.
The group, made up of left-leaning scientists and an active Communist party professor, previously lobbied for a Christmas lockdown but quietly softened their stance after the milder Omicron wave subsided naturally and the NHS was not overwhelmed.
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