An expert has warned that the pandemic is not over, as a new variant of “stealth Omicron ” is spreading among the population.
The highly contagious sub-variant of Omicron, officially named Ba.2, is more difficult to differentiate from other variants using PCR tests.
The UKI Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has confirmed this latest variant.
Nationally, latest government figures show a 46 per cent rise in new recorded UK cases week on week – to 346,059 over the past week – and a 12 per cent rise in hospitalisations to 8,950.
Researchers suggest that increasing infections could be due to more mixing since restrictions eased and waning effectiveness of boosters, Hull Live reports.
While cases have fallen significantly since the Omicron wave, infections are rising in people 55 and older.
Dr Jenny Harries, chief executive of the UKHSA, warned the pandemic is "not over" and that we can expect to see Covid circulating at 'high levels'.
"These data confirm that cases have declined substantially following the peak of the Omicron wave," said Dr Harries.
"However, the increasing presence of the BA.2 sub-lineage of Omicron 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."
Professor Paul Elliott, director of Imperial College London's React programme, said it is possible that the figures indicate infections are beginning to rise in England but it is unclear where they will go.
Asked whether the increasing numbers of BA.2 could lead to a surge in new cases, Prof Elliott said the data needs to be tracked carefully.
He added: "It is more transmissible.
"We are seeing an uptick in infections, particularly in the older group, and we are seeing an uptick in hospitalisations.
"So I think what we say in our paper is that we really need to be monitoring closely the infection data through surveys, such as React, and we need to monitor the hospitalisations.
"At the moment, we're possibly seeing the beginning of an uptick, but we don’t know where it’s going to go."
The latest findings from the React-1 study, covering February 8 to March 1 – round 18 of the study, show that prevalence in England during this period was 2.88%.
This was down on the 4.41% reported in round 17 covering January 5 to January 20 2022.
However, it was also the second highest recorded rate of cases since the study began in 2020.
The findings means that over the period the data was collected, around one in 35 people in England was infected with the virus.
The data has been published as a pre-print.
