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COVID surge due to 'smash UK records within a week'

All COVID restrictions in England ended in March. (PA)
All COVID restrictions in England ended in March. (PA)

The surge in COVID infections spreading across the country could "smash UK records within a week" a leading professor has warned.

Tim Spector, the head of the ZOE symptom study app, said: "Omicron BA.5 Now past 325,000 per day setting new records for Scotland and Wales and due to smash UK records within a week. Still no public health advice to help?"

The ZOE app collects data from more than 4 million contributors to help track multiple aspects of the virus - including the most common symptoms associated with those who have caught it.

Read more: Hospitals bring back mandatory face masks as COVID cases rocket

Cases have been rising in the UK for weeks. (Twitter)
Cases have been rising in the UK for weeks. (Twitter)

Spector said the UK was now recording around 309,000 new cases a day which equates to around 1 in 20 people.

He said the wave of infections showed no sign of slowing and hospitals were "filling up."

All COVID restrictions came to an end in England in March, with the rest of the UK following suit soon after.

(Yahoo)
(Yahoo)

Infections have been on the rise for weeks but so far the governments of the four devolved nations have shown no sign of wanting to bring back and restrictions.

The rate of hospital admissions in England of people testing positive for COVID-19 stood at 14.6 per 100,000 last week, up from 11.1 the previous week, according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).

Hospital admissions remain highest among over-85s, at 126.2 per 100,000 people, followed by 75 to 84-year-olds (59.3) and 65 to 74-year-olds (24.0).

Health officials have been urging all over 75s to get a "spring booster" available at least three months after their most recent jab, to ensure they continue to receive the maximum possible protection.

(Yahoo)
(Yahoo)

The total number of people in hospital in England who have tested positive for COVID-19 currently stands at 11,878, up 33% week-on-week.

Around six in 10 patients who test positive for COVID-19 are being treated primarily for something else rather than the virus, but still need to be kept isolated from other patients, putting extra pressure on hospital staff and resources.

One of the largest concerns with the new wave of COVID is the impact on the NHS.

Read more: Summer COVID wave: We don't know when cases will peak, says expert

Elderly people are able to get a 'spring booster'. (PA)
Elderly people are able to get a 'spring booster'. (PA)

The government has recently cancelled full sick pay for NHS workers who have COVID, even if they aren't too ill to work.

This has sparked concern many staff may choose to work even if they have tested positive.

It also withdraws some support for those workers who are suffering from long COVID and are no longer able to work at their desks.

Despite this, deaths from COVID remain at a low level.

There were 285 deaths registered in the week to June 24 where coronavirus was mentioned on the death certificate, according to the Office for National Statistics.

This is broadly unchanged from the previous two weeks.