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Scientists say England has reached a “critical stage” of the second wave of Covid-19 with cases doubling every nine days and new infections reaching around 96,000 per day.
The spread of the virus continues to increase in all parts of the country, according to a new study from Imperial College London.
The infection rate is increasing in all age groups with the disease’s greatest spread in North West England and Yorkshire and the Humber region, the research found.
The study, which involved testing more than 85,000 volunteers, found that 128 out of 10,000 people were infected in England in the two weeks ending October 25, compared to 60 per 10,000 in the same period ending October 5. .
Meanwhile, the UK government is reportedly considering the rapid deployment of saliva-based coronavirus kits in an attempt to test up to 10% of England’s population each week.
According to The Guardian newspaper, NHS Test and Trace is stepping up its efforts to meet the targets set out in the government’s Operation Moonshot plans announced last month.
In a leaked letter seen by the newspaper, Alex Cooper, director of rapid tests at NHS Test and Trace, said the body was embarking on a “major new front in our fight against coronavirus.”
“Each director of public health will be eligible to receive weekly tests equal to 10% of their population,” he wrote.
The testing program would target the regions with the highest level of restrictions and mark a significant increase from the current capacity of 2.1 million conventional nose and throat swabs per week.
The leaked letter comes as the latest test and follow-up figures are to be released today, a source of criticism for the government in recent weeks.
Last week’s figures revealed that only 59.6% of the proportion of close contacts of people who tested positive was reached, the lowest weekly percentage since the show began.
Critics are also concerned that the expansion of saliva-based tests could lead to many thousands of false positives, and Test and Trace chief Dido Harding has expressed skepticism about it.
A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Work said: “We are already testing new test technologies in the North West, Northeast and Yorkshire with repeated tests for priority groups to identify those most at risk of spreading the virus.
“We continue to work tirelessly to ensure that everyone who needs a test can get one and this includes introducing new and highly reliable technology that allows us to test more people and deliver rapid results at scale.”
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Nottinghamshire will enter Level 3 restrictions from midnight tomorrow, which means that 1.1 million more people will live under England’s most severe virus measures.
UK Attorney General Robert Buckland has warned that the country is likely to remain in the grip of the second wave throughout the winter.
He also shattered hopes for a relaxation of Christmas closure restrictions, telling ITV’s Peston show: “Christmas in its perhaps fullest sense will not be achievable for any of us this year.
“And maybe coming to terms with that now is probably the right approach to take.”
Additional reporting PA
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