:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/elfinanciero/AOAPISI3B5COFDAOOTN6AUMA4U.jpg "adds 4.9 million in a week – El Financiero")
The incidence of coronavirus in Great Britain reached record figures: it is estimated that 1 in 13 people was infected by the virus in the last week, according to the latest data from the British Office of Statistics.
About 4.9 million people are estimated to have contracted COVID-19 in the week ending March 26, up from 4.3 million the previous week, the Office for National Statistics reported on Friday. The latest spike is fueled by BA.2, an offshoot of omicron, which is a much more contagious variant and the dominant one across the country.
Hospitalization and mortality rates have risen again, although the number of deaths caused by the coronavirus is relatively low compared to the data from the beginning of the year. However, the latest figures indicate that the significant spike in infections that began in late February – when Prime Minister Boris Johnson lifted all restrictions in England – continued into March as well.
The publication of the data coincided with the end of free rapid tests for the majority of the population of England, as part of Johnson’s plan to “coexist with COVID”. Those who do not have previous health problems that make them more vulnerable to the virus will have to pay for tests to find out if they are infected.
“The government’s strategy of ‘coexisting with COVID,’ of removing all mitigation, isolation, free testing, and a significant portion of our surveillance, is nothing more than ignoring this virus going forward,” said Stephen Griffin, adjunct professor at the University of Leeds School of Medicine.
“This uncontrolled incidence jeopardizes the protection offered by our vaccines,” he added. “Our vaccines are great, but they are not a panacea and should not be left to bear the burden of COVID alone.”
More than 67 percent of the British population over 12 years of age have received a booster dose of the vaccine. From Saturday, in England you can request the vaccine for children between 5 and 12 years.
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