UK infections highest ever in the pandemic so far. New Zealand Stop vaccine passes and vaccine mandates for some of the workforce, early April Stopping gathering limits in outdoor settings Requirements to use the Covid-19 tracer app when entering businesses. Michael Plank, Te Pūnaha Matatini and University of Canterbury Vaccines are still hugely effective at preventing severe illness, but less effective at stopping people catching and spreading the virus At the same time, we now have increasing levels of infection-acquired immunity in the population. This means that allowing unvaccinated people into places like cafes and bars doesn’t substantially alter the risk of catching Covid there At least as many people will be infected on the way down the mountain as on the way up, and pressure on our healthcare system is likely to remain high. Keeping mask rules is crucial to limit transmission China Cases, + 4,770 HTTPS://WWW.THEGUARDIAN.COM/WORLD/202… City of Shenyang, (9 million people) Cases, + 47 All housing compounds under ‘closed management’ Local lockdowns, mass testing and citywide closures Dozens of officials have been punished or sacked for virus control failures Only around half of Chinese aged over 80 have been double-vaccinated Zoe data https://covid.joinzoe.com/data UK official data https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk ONS HTTPS://WWW.ONS.GOV.UK/PEOPLEPOPULATI… Prevalence 4.87% in England (1 in 20 people) 4.13% in Wales (1 in 25 people) 7.12% in Northern Ireland (1 in 14 people) 7.15% in Scotland (1 in 14 people)
Is the US to follow? Too early to be sure, but I think so. US, BA.2 https://www.helix.com/pages/helix-cov… 70% of new infections US excess deaths https://public.tableau.com/app/profil… Zoe data Since May 2020, 35 million cases Last 4 months 18 million cases of omicron https://covid.joinzoe.com https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9llyJ… Symptomatic cases at all time high One in 19 Mass infection across the country R = 1.2 Increase 2 weeks ago, 50% Increase last week, 26% London and Scotland highest Scottish restrictions don’t seem to be working Deaths, risk of dying after vaccination is less than the average influenza Many people catching covid in hospital Two days self-isolation when symptomatic should reduce hospitilisations All age groups rising steeply All UK regions and countries rising steeply April, boosters for over 75s Reinfection rates, 7% approximately Immunity short lived Symptoms, 719 days https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronav… Symptoms Runny nose, 82% Fatigue, 70% Headache, 69% Sore throat, 69% Sneezing, 68% Persistent cough, 53% Hoarse, 46% Chills or shivers, 36% Joint pains, 33% Fever, 32% Dizzy, 30% Brain fog, 27% Sore eyes, 25% Altered smell, 24% Muscle pains, 23% Lower back pain, 23% Swollen glands, 21% Skipped meals, 18% Ear ringing, 17% Covid more common than colds Even if testing negative No free tests from 1st April UK official data https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/detai…