For the first time in months, Covid-19 infections in the UK are no longer falling - with the Office for National Statistics (ONS) warning signs of a rise can be seen around the country.
In Newcastle and the North East as a whole, rates of Covid-19 remain low, but like elsewhere the falls seen since the end of March have slowed. Now, around the country up to one in 70 people are estimated to have had Covid-19 in the last week.
Experts think that the rise is likely to have been caused by a jump in infections from the original Omicron variant BA.1, along with the newer "variants of concern" BA.4 and BA.5. According to the UK Health Security Agency, the latter are thought to be better at "immune escape" than earlier strains, including the so-called "stealth Omicron" BA.2 variant which caused huge spikes during March and April.
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It comes as separate figures suggest the recent drop in the number of people in hospital with Covid-19 may also have come to a halt. As of June 10, there were 710 Covid-19 patients in hospitals across the North East and Yorkshire. That's up from a low of 615 on June 3 - which was the lowest figure seen since July 2021.
A total of 989,800 people in private households in the UK are estimated to have had the virus in the week ending June 2, up from 953,900 the previous week, according to the ONS. This is the first rise in numbers since the end of March, when the number hit a record 4.9 million at the peak of the Omicron BA.2 wave.
Similarly, as of June 6 the North East's rate of cases per 100,000 people had risen to 73.9. Though still far lower than at the height of the BA.2 wave, the last week of data has shown the first rises since March 30 - and the beginning of a potentially worrying trend.
"Across all four UK countries, the percentage of people testing positive for Covid-19 compatible with Omicron variants BA.1, BA.4 and BA.5 increased in the week ending June 2 2022," the ONS said.
Omicron BA.1 is the original variant of Omicron that caused a surge in infections across the UK in December and early January.
Some 4,082 hospital patients in England had Covid-19 on June 9, up 6% on the previous week, Patient numbers had previously been on a steady downwards trend since early April, following the peak of the Omicron BA.2 wave.
The percentage of people testing positive for Covid-19 in England is estimated to have increased among 35 to 49-year-olds, with early signs of a rise among people from school year 12 to age 24, the ONS added.
Among the regions of England, infection levels are estimated to have risen in the North West, London and the South East, with early signs of an increase in eastern England. However, at this stage the North East is not one of the regions thought to have seen a serious rise in cases - with statisticians saying the trend here was "uncertain".
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