Coronavirus latest: 'Not out of the woods' as new wave begins and hospitalizations rise....
In both 2020 and 2021 COVID-19 case numbers were observed to drop as the weather warmed and rose as the temperature cooled. As a result, many began to see Covid as a seasonal virus, one that flared up during the winter. However, new evidence suggests this might not be the case amid a rise in hospitalizations caused by two sub-variants of Omicron, BA.4 and BA.5. Experts are now warning Covid may pose a year-round, rather than seasonal threat.
ust as the UK and Europe enter a time when Covid cases have traditionally been at their lowest, they are instead starting to observe a rise.
Hospital admissions as a result of COVID-19 are on the rise; France, England, Germany, and Portugal are all reporting data suggestive of a new wave.
This has been driven in large part by Omicron sub-variants BA.4 and BA.5; two sub-variants known to hold more in common with the more dangerous Delta variant of COVID-19.
Virologist at the University of Warwick, Lawrence Young said: "We're not out of the woods with this at all. The biggest concern is we've let our guard down quite considerably."
Head of surveillance at the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said BA.4 and BA.5 did not necessarily lead to severe illness, but they did have a greater ability to infect people again.
Data shows even those who have had three vaccine doses are falling ill.
The impact, particularly of BA.5, is already starting to show in mainland Europe; in Portugal, the sub-variant accounts for around 84 percent of new infections.
The answer as to whether BA.4 and BA.5 will deprive the UK of another summer is an uncertain one.
While the growth of the virus is slowing, it shows COVID-19 is not a winter virus and is not like flu.
Furthermore, it is a reminder nations must be vigilant and think twice before letting their viral guard down.
What remains certain, at least among the scientific community, is the COVID-19 pandemic isn't over.
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Weekly COVID-related deaths up by nearly 40% in England and Wales...
The latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows some 400 deaths registered in the seven days to 7 October mentioned coronavirus on the death certificate.
The figure climbed 39% from 287 the week earlier, according to the figures.
Of those 400 deaths, 63.5% (254 deaths) had COVID recorded as the underlying cause of death, slightly higher than the week before when it was 63.1% (181 deaths).
It is the first signal the current wave of infections is likely to be driving an increase in deaths involving COVID-19 - though numbers have yet to match those seen during this year's summer wave.
Death registrations reached 810 in the week up to 29 July, following an increase in infections caused by the BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron variants.
But this is far below the level seen in January 2021, when the virus claimed the lives of almost 8,500 people every week.
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