The number of hospitalised patients in England who tested positive for covid-19 shows early symptoms of decline, suggesting that the latest wave of infections has possibly peaked.
A total of 12,529 more people with coronavirus were hospitalized on July 25, down 11 percent from last week.
This is the sixth consecutive day that the week-over-week update has shown a decline.
The number of patients was higher during much of June and the first part of July, driven by the wave of existing Covid-19 infections.
But the most recent figures, from England’s NHS, show this stopped after peaking at 14,044 on July 18.
This figure is slightly lower than the peaks reached in the two previous waves of infections in the year.
The existing wave is through the coronavirus subvariants Omicron BA. 4 and BA. 5, which are more transmissible than previous strains.
Infection levels in England were still emerging in mid-July, according to the most recent estimates from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The most recent estimates are expected to be released on Friday and may only show that infections have begun to stabilize.
The number of hospitals in this year’s waves has never come close to matching the kind of numbers seen at the pre-vaccine level of the pandemic.
The recent peak of 14,044 patients represents less than a part of the 34,336 affected in January 2021, the Alpha wave of infections.
High levels of covid antibodies among the population, either from vaccination or from a previous infection, mean that the number of other people severely or dying from the virus remains low.
Separate onS figures released on Tuesday show that coronavirus deaths recorded weekly in England and Wales have risen for the fourth week in a row, but the degrees are still well below those reached in previous waves of the virus.
A total of 585 deaths recorded in the seven days prior to July 15 discussed Covid-19 on the death certificate.
That’s up 38% from last week and is the number from the seven days leading up to May 13.
The upward trend in death records reflects the recent rise in COVID-19 infections, but it will most likely take several weeks before the numbers peak and stabilize.
In fact, the trend in death tolls continues to lag behind the equivalent trend in infections and hospitalizations, due to the time that elapses between a user catching the virus and becoming seriously ill, as well as the time it takes for deaths to be reported and recorded. .
In the previous two waves this year, weekly deaths in England and Wales peaked at between 1,000 and 1,500.
This is well below the peak seen in the January 2021 Alpha wave, when the weekly total reached nearly 8500.
Overall, a total of 201,680 more people in the UK have now registered a coronavirus on their death certificate since the beginning of the pandemic, the ONS said.
This includes all cases where Covid-19 has been mentioned on a certificate, either as the leading cause of death or as a contributing factor.
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