People have been urged to wear masks again in crowded and enclosed spaces, amid fears that hospitalisations from coronavirus could hit an 18-month high. The warning, which came from senior health official Dame Dr Jenny Harries on Sunday (June 3), came just days after it was reported that Manchester's hospitals were among those seeing a huge influx in positive admissions from the virus.
Dr Harries, chief executive of the UK Health Security Agency, spoke out on BBC's Sunday Morning show on June 3, informing viewers that the current wave of the virus had not yet peaked, as she urged people to wear masks again, wash their hands more frequently and keep their distance from others.
She added it was 'quite likely' that hospitalisations nationally will rise higher than they did in the previous wave. She encouraged people to 'go about their normal lives in a precautionary way' but admitted she has been carrying mask with her wherever she goes. Health trust chiefs were also warned of a 'bumpy ride' ahead from NHS Providers interim chief executive Saffron Cordery.
Hospitalisations have been creeping up again in recent weeks nationally - with the Manchester Evening News previously reporting that more than 400 people were admitted to the city's hospitals in the space of just seven days last week. Top medics from across Manchester warned 'covid is everywhere' and that infection rates did not accurately reflect the scale of the spread in the region.
A total of 470 patients were admitted to Manchester's hospitals with Covid-19 in the week ending June 26 - an 11 per cent rise on the week before. And, a total of 4,963 people tested positive for coronavirus across the region in that same week, a rise of over 1,300 from the week earlier.
It was just last month that one Greater Manchester GP raised concerns of an incoming ‘Covid wave’ and the impact it could have on the NHS. The emergence of Omicron variants BA.4 and BA.5 were first designated as variants of concern in the UK on May 20.
On Sunday, Dr Harries warned those BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron variants are what are 'pushing and driving' this new wave. She said: “It doesn't look as though that wave has finished yet. So we would anticipate that hospital cases will rise and it's possible, quite likely that they will actually peak over the previous BA.2 wave [in March 2022].
“But I think the overall impact we won't know. It's easy to say in retrospect - it's not so easy to model forward.”
The national picture suggests around 2.3 million people in private households are estimated to have had the virus last week, up 32 per cent from a week earlier. The number of people in UK hospitals with Covid has already risen from around 5,000 to more than 10,000 by June 27.
Dame Jenny suggested she has been wearing a mask more often due to the raised risk. She said: “I think the the advice is still the same. We want people to take sensible precautionary advice.
"So routine things like washing your hands, keeping your distance, wearing a face covering if you're going into enclosed, poorly ventilated spaces. We're still encouraging people to go about their normal lives but in that precautionary way.
“So I haven't been routinely wearing one (a mask) but I do routinely carry one in my handbag wherever I go. Actually, I have worn it in the last week for the very reason that I'm doing exactly what I've said, I'm adapting to the changing prevalence of infection.
“If I was symptomatic and had to go out, I would definitely wear one - clearly I would avoid doing that at all cost. In fact, if I got any respiratory infection it’s a good thing to do and I think it’s a new lesson for the country.”
Asked if it matters that a lot of people are getting infected with Covid, she said that aside from the effect on individuals, it also "matters on a national basis". She added: "Whilst we have an armament now of vaccines and antiviral treatments, we do have, as you've just highlighted, a rise in hospital admissions and occupancy.
"And that means it's not just Covid that we're concerned about, but it's actually our ability to treat other illnesses as well."
The interim chief executive of NHS Providers, the membership organisation for NHS hospital, mental health, community and ambulance services, said there is no room for complacency.
Saffron Cordery said: “Trust leaders know they are in for a bumpy ride over the coming months as they tackle new and unpredictable variants of Covid-19 alongside grappling with seasonal flu pressures which may hit us earlier than usual this year. The policy of living with Covid does not mean Covid has gone away.
"The latest data shows we cannot afford to be complacent with currently small but concerning increases over the past week in the number of patients both being admitted to hospital with Covid-19 and those needing a ventilator.
“Warnings from Dr Jenny Harries today that community infection rates and hospital admissions are expected to rise further is concerning. Waves of Covid-19 and flu will put additional pressure on stretched NHS staff and services and their efforts to tackle waiting lists, deliver efficiencies and transform the NHS, as well as on our hard-pressed colleagues in social care.”
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