Covid news – live: Hospital patients up by 37% as experts warn of fifth wave

NHS says bed demand at winter level as 1.7 million test positive

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Hospitals beds in England taken up by Covid-19 patients have surged by 37 per cent, as experts warned UK has entered its fifth wave.

New NHS data showed the number of positive patients jumped to 7,822 - up by more than 2,000 in a week.

Coronavirus cases have increased sharply in recent weeks, with the latest figures showing 1.7 million people testing positive across the UK, a 23 per cent increase on the week before.

The figures followed warnings from experts that UK has hit its fifth wave and could spell trouble for the NHS as it is already facing the same level of winter levels of demand on beds. The increase is being driven by the recent BA.4 and BA.5 variants, subvariants of Omicron.

Professor Tim Spector, of the ZOE Covid symptom study app, warned that large summer events could could “potentially have a big effect” on Covid rates.

“Events like Glastonbury will drive up cases but the question is how much do they account for,” he told The Independent.

Key Points

• NHS goodwill 'running dry'
• Cases continue to rise
• Summer events could have ‘big effect'
• UK in ‘fifth wave'

[27 June 2022 09:49 · Matt Mathers]

Good morning

Good morning and welcome to The Independent’s rolling coverage of the Covid pandemic.

We’ll have updates throughout the day as cases rise in the UK and experts warn of a fifth wave of infections.

Stay tuned.

[27 June 2022 09:49 · Matt Mathers]

UK in ‘fifth wave already’ as experts warn summer events will see infections surge even higher

The UK is fighting a fifth wave of Covid as infections soar and large summer events could see cases rise even higher, experts have warned.

Coronavirus cases have increased sharply in recent weeks, with the latest figures showing 1.7 million people testing positive across the UK, a 23 per cent increase on the week before. The increase is being driven by the recent BA.4 and BA.5 variants, subvariants of Omicron.

[27 June 2022 10:04 · Matt Mathers]

Calls for booster jabs by Autumn as cases continue to rise

As we’ve been reporting, Covid cases in the UK are rising as experts warn of a fifth wave.

In response, health officials are calling for further boost vaccines to be administered going into the autumn.

Professor Adam Finn, a member of the government’s Joint Committee on Immunisations and Vaccinations, said on BBC Radio Four on Monday, Covid-19 boosters will need to be rolled out as immunity to the virus gained by previous booster campaigns wanes.

Our health correspondent Rebecca Thomas has the story:

[27 June 2022 10:30 · Matt Mathers]

Most infectious Covid variants as Omicron fuels rise in UK cases

Covid cases are on the rise - but which variants are driving the fifth wave of infections, and what strains are the most infectious?

My colleague Maryam Zakir-Hussain reports:

[27 June 2022 10:43 · Matt Mathers]

When can I get my Covid booster jab? Everything you need to know

The UK is already embroiled in a fifth wave of Covid-19 infections, experts have warned, adding that summer festivals bringing large crowds together could turn into super-spreader events if precautions are not taken.

Joe Sommerlad reports:

[27 June 2022 11:03 · Matt Mathers]

Nearly all secondary school pupils have Covid antibodies - study

Nearly all secondary school-age children have Covid-19 antibodies, according to data from the School Infection Survey.

The data released on Monday also showed that the proportion of primary school parents who would be "unlikely" to vaccinate their child has risen.

The survey found an estimated 99 per cent of secondary pupils and 82 per cent of primary pupils tested positive for Covid antibodies between 3 March and 22 this year.

The testing, in its final round, found that there was "significantly higher" antibody levels in both primary and secondary pupils than during the previous round of tests in February, when 97 per cent and 62 per cent of secondary and primary pupils respectively tested positive for the antibodies.

The study also found that 78 per cent of children aged between four and seven tested positive for antibodies.

[27 June 2022 11:16 · Matt Mathers]

Casino hub Macau launches third round of COVID testing as infections rise

Macau launched a third round of mandatory COVID-19 testing for its more than 600,000 residents on Monday, in a push to curb a rise in infections in the world's biggest gambling hub.

Authorities in Macau have locked down multiple buildings and put more than 5,000 people in quarantine in the past few days, the city's government said. Health authorities said 38 new COVID cases were recorded on Sunday, taking the total number of infections to 299 in the latest outbreak.

Two rounds of COVID tests were conducted in Macau in the past week. The latest round is expected to end on Tuesday.

Authorities have asked people to remain at home as much as possible with most of the city effectively closed, including bars, hair salons and outdoor parks. Only takeaway is allowed from dining facilities.

Casinos, while mostly deserted, are allowed to stay open, the city's government said, in a move to protect local jobs.

[27 June 2022 11:38 · Matt Mathers]

How Covid is affecting Asia and other regions

Some regions in Asia sought to ease COVID-19 restrictions after a steep fall in infections, while some vaccine makers flagged positive outcomes from their Omicron-specific booster doses.

DEATHS AND INFECTIONS

ASIA-PACIFIC

* Beijing said on Saturday it would allow primary and secondary schools to resume in-person classes and Shanghai's top party boss declared victory over COVID-19 after the city reported zero new local cases for the first time in two months.

* Shanghai will gradually resume dining-in at restaurants from June 29 in low-risk areas and areas without any community-level spread of COVID-19 during the previous week, a Shanghai government official said on Sunday.

* Macau launched a third round of mandatory COVID-19 testing for its more than 600,000 residents, in a push to curb a rise in infections in the world's biggest gambling hub.

EUROPE

* The launch of BioNTech's vaccine adapted to the Omicron coronavirus variant may be delayed due to a disagreement with the regulator over the approval process, the Welt Am Sonntag (WAS) newspaper reported on Saturday.

AMERICAS

* Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE said a booster dose of updated versions of their COVID-19 vaccine, modified specifically to combat the Omicron coronavirus variant, generated a higher immune response against that variant.

AFRICA & MIDDLE EAST

* China's Sinovac Biotech said South Africa's health products regulator granted conditional registration to its coronavirus vaccine, CoronaVac, for people aged 18 and above.

MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS

* Late-stage data on an experimental COVID-19 vaccine from Sanofi and GSK has showed the shot confers protection against the Omicron variant of the virus, the companies said.

* The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it had recommended Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine for children and adolescents aged 6 to 17, allowing a rollout of the shots to begin for that age group.

ECONOMIC IMPACT

* Profits at China's industrial firms shrank at a slower pace in May following a sharp fall in April, as activity in major manufacturing hubs resumed, but COVID-19 restrictions still weighed on factory production and squeezed factory margins.

* H&M has shut its flagship Shanghai store, its latest closure in China where consumer demand has slumped amid COVID-19 lockdowns and the fast-fashion retailer has borne the brunt of a backlash against companies that refuse to use Xinjiang cotton.

[27 June 2022 11:49 · Matt Mathers]

Latest available government data for England

• 22, 293 people have had a first vaccine dose in the past seven days; 43,546 have had a second
• 87,147 people have tested positive in the past seven days
• 313 people have died within 28 days of a positive test
• 6,733 people admitted to hospital in the past seven days

[27 June 2022 12:20 · Matt Mathers]

Earlier this year, Boris Johnson removed all remaining Covid laws as part of his plan to live with the virus.

What does this mean for mask wearing? My colleague Joe Sommerlad reports: