More than 400 people have been admitted to Greater Manchester's hospitals with Covid-19 in just one week as the virus continues its latest rise. Health chiefs from the region have warned that coronavirus is now starting a new 'wave', but say that the latest infection rates continue to be an underreporting of the scale of the spread.
A total of 470 patients were admitted to the city's hospitals with Covid-19 in the week ending June 26, the latest figures issued by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) say. That figure is 48 more than the week before and a rise of 11 per cent.
However, in the absence of free mass testing, doctors and public health officials alike tell the Manchester Evening News that infection rates are likely being heavily underreported, with one source saying 'Covid is everywhere' at the moment. Fewer people are likely to report their results as tests now come at a cost, and there are no rules in place to make the reporting mandatory.
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Even so, infection rates have risen in all ten boroughs of Greater Manchester. Stockport continues to have the highest coronavirus infection rate in Greater Manchester.
The borough recorded a rate of 217.9 cases per 100,000 people in the week ending June 26, says the latest data from the UKHSA. The lowest infection rate is in Oldham, where the rate is 110.3 cases per 100,000 people.
In Greater Manchester as a whole, the infection rate is now 175.0 cases per 100,000 population. The infection rate in the region is lower than the national average, which is 205.4 cases per 100,000 people.
A total of 4,963 people tested positive for coronavirus across Greater Manchester in the week which ended on June 26. The Greater Manchester weekly total has increased by 1,325 cases compared to the previous week, which means the infection rate was up 36 per cent in the last week.
The infection rate is higher than the national average one area of Greater Manchester. It is lower than the national average in 9 areas.
On Tuesday June 28, there were 11 Mechanical Ventilation (MV) beds occupied by Covid patients in Greater Manchester NHS hospitals. That is the same as a week earlier. In the week ending June 26, a total of 30 people died within 28 days of a positive Covid test across Greater Manchester, which is 15 more than the week before.
Since the start of the pandemic, there have been a total of 1,009,953 confirmed coronavirus cases in Greater Manchester. There has been a total of 9,437 deaths.
Earlier this month, one Greater Manchester GP raised concerns of an incoming ‘Covid wave’ and the impact it could have on an already-pushed out NHS. Bolton GP Dr Helen Wall tweeted today: “Can anyone else feel it? Next Covid wave inbound? Staff, patients, colleagues, friends, family, neighbours all succumbing again.
“It’s palpable in #TeamGP right now. Let’s hope hospital admissions stay low and we can keep what little NHS capacity we have going.”
The uptick follows the emergence of Omicron variants BA.4 and BA.5, which were designated as variants of concern in the UK on May 20. The two mutations, first detected in Africa in January and February, have been cited by the ONS (Office for National Statistics) as a likely cause for rising infection rates throughout the UK.
Hospital admissions and coronavirus deaths can still be used to track coronavirus trends. But there is a time lag in between the infection itself and the hospitalisation and/or death from the virus, meaning those figures do not give a contemporary picture of the current infection rate.
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