Covid-19 cases are surging in the over 55s as official data shows hospitalisations and deaths increasing again.
The UK Health Security Agency warned the coronavirus pandemic is not over and case rates are still very high.
Imperial College London’s REACT study reveals upturn infections since Boris Johnson ’s ‘Freedom Day’ on February 24, which included the removal of the legal requirement to self isolate.
The 95,000 random swab test collected in England between February 8 and March 1 suggests one in every 35 people now have the virus.
Covid cases were falling until the final days of February since when they started to increase.
Professor Paul Elliott, director of Imperial’s React programme, said: “We are seeing an uptick in infections, particularly in the older group, and we are seeing an uptick in hospitalisations.
“At the moment, we’re possibly seeing the beginning of an uptick, but we don’t know where it’s going to go.”
Prevalence in England was 2.88%, down on the 4.41% reported in the last round covering January 5-20, but the second highest recorded rate since the study began in 2020.
New cases are being driven by the BA.2 sub-lineage of Omicron, dubbed ‘Stealth Omicron’ because it cannot be detected by routine PCR tests.
Dr Jenny Harries, chief executive of the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), said: “These data confirm that cases have declined substantially following the peak of the Omicron wave.
“However, the increasing presence of BA.2 and the recent slight increase in infections in those over 55 show that the pandemic is not over and that we can expect to see Covid circulating at high levels.
“Vaccination remains the best way to protect us all from severe disease and hospitalisation due to Covid-19 infection.
“We urge you to come forward for your primary or booster doses straight away if you have not already done so.”
There were 67,159 new positive tests logged across the UK over the last 24 hours, according to Government dashboard data, 53% more than last Wednesday’s figure of 44,017.
Deaths within 28 days of a confirmed coronavirus test also increased to 123, up 66% on the 74 recorded last week.
It comes as hospital admissions in England are up by a fifth in the last week, with a weekly total back above 8,000.
Covid admissions in the South West are higher than the January peak.
England scrapped all its remaining emergency Covid laws in February with routine contact tracing axed along with £500 self-isolation payments.
Dr Simon Clarke, cellular microbiologist at Reading University, said: “There’s something of an inevitability to increasing infection numbers.
“Control measures were put in place to reduce transmission of the coronavirus, so removing them, by definition, creates an environment where transmission can occur more easily.
“If you create or allow conditions for the virus to spread, that is what it will do. It cannot simply be wished away.
“Whether the UK sees the number of hospitalisations like we have seen previously and whether admissions result in a higher proportion of patients going to ICU remains to be seen
“This latest increase in infections could be because people are mixing more or because of a drop in population-wide immunity. Most likely it’s a bit of both.”
Asked whether the increasing numbers of BA.2 could lead to a surge in new cases, Prof Elliott added: “It is more transmissible.”
The REACT data has been published as a pre-print.
