Photo: NIAID / Flickr
This latest wave of COVID-19 has driven Britain to a record number of active infections over the past few weeks – but are we already over the worst? Several data sets are now indicating that new cases of the virus are starting to decline.
It’s understood the BA.2 variant of COVID-19 – slightly more transmissible than its predecessor – is behind the surge in infections. But the UK’s official coronavirus dashboard has shown cases dropping over the past week.
The number of people testing positive has dropped by 12% over the last seven days – and there’s also some positive hospital data to report, according to these figures from NHS England:
Of course, this is coming from a high base, and our battle against COVID-19 is certainly not over yet. But there are some encouraging signs on both the domestic AND global front.
Our World In Data, who have been monitoring COVID-19 numbers worldwide since the start of the pandemic, pointed out this week that virus deaths are now ‘as low as they have ever been’, going back to our first lockdowns in April 2020. This data is also supported by Worldometer.
Cases AND hospitalisations in the US have also reached two-year lows. This is largely thanks to the huge impact vaccinations and boosters have played since the end of 2021. A third jab has been proved to increase the bodies antibody levels – and the proof appears to be in the pudding….
