Metro News
8/1/21
The UK’s Covid R Rate has risen to between 1 and 1.4, according to the latest SAGE estimates.
New statistics come from the Department of Health as Mayor Sadiq Khan declares a ‘major incident’ in London, warning Covid is ‘out of control’.
It is the first time the R Rate has been reported since Boris Johnson plunged England into a third national lockdown.
It was last reported to be between 1.1 and 1.3 on December 23. An R number between 1.0 and 1.4 means that, on average, every 10 people infected will infect between 10 and 14 other people.
It comes after the UK reported its second-highest death toll ever on Thursday, as another 1,162 people died with the virus.
The NHS has warned there are now 50% more Covid patients in hospitals across the UK than there were at the peak of the pandemic’s first wave.
Speaking during a Downing Street press conference last night, Sir Simon Stevens said:
‘We’ve got 50% more coronavirus inpatients in our hospitals than we had in the peak of the April first wave.
‘That is true in every region in the country now, more Covid patients than back in April.
The latest regional R Rate estimates
East of England – 1.1 to 1.3
London – 1.1 to 1.4
Midlands – 1.1 to 1.4
North East and Yorkshire – 1.1 to 1.4
North West – 1.0 to 1.4
South East – 1.1 to 1.4
South West – 1.1 to 1.5
‘That number is accelerating very very rapidly. We have seen an increase of 10,000 hospitalised coronavirus patients just since Christmas Day.
‘That is the equivalent of filling 20 acute hospitals with extra coronavirus patients.
‘And of course, many of those will be patients who caught the infection between Christmas Day and New Year, given the delay between catching the infection and becoming seriously ill.
However, some hope was offered today as a study found the Pfizer jab works against two new highly infectious strains of coronavirus.
A third coronavirus vaccine has also been approved for use in the UK, with regulators giving the Moderna jab the green light on Friday.
Meanwhile, a new ‘life-saving’ coronavirus treatment has been found to reduce the risk of death for ICU patients by 24%.
Drugs normally used to treat rheumatoid arthritis will be given to Covid patients after a Government-funded clinical trial produced one of the biggest medical breakthroughs of the pandemic.
Source: Metro News
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The coronavirus R number in the UK has risen to between 1 and 1.4, according to SAGE estimates. R - or the reproduction...
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