112377
  • Log in
The Daily Sceptic
No Result
View All Result
  • Articles
  • About
  • Archive
    • ARCHIVE
    • NEWS ROUND-UPS
  • Forum
  • Donate
  • Newsletter
The Daily Sceptic
No Result
View All Result

Covid Hospital Admissions Drop for 22nd Day in a Row – But New Variants in South Africa Raise Questions of What Comes Next

by Will Jones
3 May 2022 9:51 PM
Covid Hospital Admissions Drop for 22nd Day in a Row – But New Variants in South Africa Raise Questions of What Comes Next

Latest Covid hospital data show there were 1,198 new admissions with Covid in the U.K. on April 27th (60% of which were incidental), which marked a 19% decrease on the previous week and a fall for the 22nd day in a row, as the Omicron BA.2 wave continues to decline. However, news of a rise in reported infections and hospital admissions in South Africa linked to new variants has raised questions of what might come next. MailOnline has more.

A delay to the Government’s dashboard update on bank holiday Monday means today’s stats include four days’ worth of numbers – after ministers stopped publishing the figures on weekends following ‘Freedom Day’.

It shows there were 35,635 new positive Covid tests over the last four days, working out at an average of just 8,900 daily cases since Friday. There were also 407 total deaths, equivalent of just over 100 daily.

Case numbers logged by the central testing scheme are becoming increasingly unreliable now that free swabs have been stopped for the vast majority of Britons. 

Meanwhile, latest Covid hospital data show there were 1,198 new admissions for the virus on April 27th, which marked a near-19% decrease on the previous week. 

Daily hospitalisations have now fallen for 22 days in a row – despite NHS leaders calling for masks and outdoor mixing to return just weeks ago.

Pressure is mounting on the U.K. to scrap its daily Covid stats after Ireland said it would discontinue its updates in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, South Africa has once again become a focal point of the pandemic amid a fresh Covid surge of new subvariants. Covid cases have nearly quadrupled in a month nationally and hospital admissions are ticking up in Gauteng province, the former epicentre of the original Omicron wave. 

The world watched in horror last November as the super-infectious Omicron strain (BA.1) spread through South Africa at unprecedented speed – which turned out to be mild. But now the country finds itself at the cusp of a fresh explosion in infections, this time due to sub-strains that appear even more transmissible and resistant to antibodies.

Researchers on the ground in South Africa say the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants can evade immunity and cause symptoms in people who were infected with their parent strain just months ago. What is still unclear is whether the new wave will create milder or more severe illness — but experts tell MailOnline the former is more likely, for the U.K. at least.

South Africa skipped the Omicron BA.2 wave, but is now the first with the new subvariants – though this is unlikely to do much more than create a new wave (or ripple) of mostly sniffles.

There has also been a lull in infections since the original Omicron wave collapsed in South Africa in January, whereas the U.K.’s case rates spiralled again over spring.

There are now nearly 4,800 new Covid infections per day in South Africa, on average, compared to around 1,300 this time last month. Nationally there are about 1,400 weekly daily hospital admissions for the virus, broadly unchanged from a month ago, but it takes several weeks for any trend to play out. In Gauteng province, home to Johannesburg, admissions have doubled in a month.

However, more than 90% of South Africans are estimated to have natural immunity against Covid, which could limit the pressure on hospitals.

Professor [Paul] Hunter told MailOnline he expects BA.4 and BA.5 to become dominant in the U.K. unless another completely new variant arises.

“I suspect that unless something else comes along, one or both of these variants will become dominant in the UK but I can’t predict how big a surge of infections that would lead to,” he said.

“It is also likely that we will still have robust protection against severe disease for most of us.”

Worth reading in full.

Tags: Hospital AdmissionsNew VariantOmicron BA.2Omicron BA.4Omicron BA.5Omicron VariantSouth Africa

Donate

We depend on your donations to keep this site going. Please give what you can.

Donate Today

Comment on this Article

You’ll need to set up an account to comment if you don’t already have one. We ask for a minimum donation of £5 if you'd like to make a comment or post in our Forums.

Sign Up
Previous Post

Why Healthcare Settings Should Drop Their Mask Requirements

Next Post

News Round-Up

Subscribe
Login
Notify of
Please log in to comment

Profanity and abuse will be removed and may lead to a permanent ban.

40 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

NEWSLETTER

To view today's newsletter click here

To receive our latest news in the form of a daily email, enter your details here:

DONATE

LISTED ARTICLES

  • Most Read
  • Most Commented
  • Editors Picks
EU Renews Vaccine Passport Scheme Despite Overwhelmingly Negative Public Feedback

EU Renews Vaccine Passport Scheme Despite Overwhelmingly Negative Public Feedback

26 June 2022
by Will Jones
Climate Scientist Says Humans Cause Less Than 0.05°C of Global Warming and Warns of “Anarchy” From “Delusional” Net Zero Policies

Climate Scientist Says Humans Cause Less Than 0.05°C of Global Warming and Warns of “Anarchy” From “Delusional” Net Zero Policies

24 June 2022
by Chris Morrison
News Round Up

News Round-Up

26 June 2022
by Will Jones
U.S. Medicines Regulator to Add Warning to Pfizer and Moderna Vaccines Over Link to Heart Inflammation

Covid Vaccines More Likely to Put You in Hospital Than Keep You Out, BMJ Editor’s Analysis of Pfizer and Moderna Trial Data Finds

22 June 2022
by Will Jones
New Analysis: Covid’s Infection Fatality Rate Now Same as Seasonal Flu

New Analysis: Covid’s Infection Fatality Rate Now Same as Seasonal Flu

26 June 2022
by Toby Young
News Round Up

News Round-Up

21
As Infections Rise, the Government Tells Over-75s to Get a Booster. But How Effective Really Are the Vaccines Against Death?

As Infections Rise, the Government Tells Over-75s to Get a Booster. But How Effective Really Are the Vaccines Against Death?

34
Student Awarded £60,000 of Taxpayers’ Money to Research Whether Puppets are Racist

Student Awarded £60,000 of Taxpayers’ Money to Research Whether Puppets are Racist

14
EU Renews Vaccine Passport Scheme Despite Overwhelmingly Negative Public Feedback

EU Renews Vaccine Passport Scheme Despite Overwhelmingly Negative Public Feedback

11
New Analysis: Covid’s Infection Fatality Rate Now Same as Seasonal Flu

New Analysis: Covid’s Infection Fatality Rate Now Same as Seasonal Flu

8
Why Healthcare Settings Should Drop Their Mask Requirements

Masks are Not Protective, Says Health & Safety Executive

24 June 2022
by Niall McCrae
Daily Sceptic ‘Fact Checked’ Over Claim That CO2 Increase Lags Behind Global Warming So Cannot Cause It – But That is What the Data Show

Daily Sceptic ‘Fact Checked’ Over Claim That CO2 Increase Lags Behind Global Warming So Cannot Cause It – But That is What the Data Show

23 June 2022
by Chris Morrison
We Should Welcome the Lab Leak Theory, Argues Biologist

Did SARS-CoV-2 Originate in Wuhan in 2019 or Earlier Elsewhere?

23 June 2022
by John Collis
U.S. Medicines Regulator to Add Warning to Pfizer and Moderna Vaccines Over Link to Heart Inflammation

Covid Vaccines More Likely to Put You in Hospital Than Keep You Out, BMJ Editor’s Analysis of Pfizer and Moderna Trial Data Finds

22 June 2022
by Will Jones
The BBC’s Dishonest Attack on Ivermectin

Ivermectin Study’s Negative Conclusion is at Odds With Its Findings of Significant Clinical Benefit

21 June 2022
by Will Jones

SOCIAL LINKS

Free Speech Union
The Daily Sceptic
  • Home
  • About us
  • Donate
  • Privacy Policy

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

RSS

Subscribe to our newsletter

© 2022 Skeptics Ltd.

No Result
View All Result
  • Articles
  • About
  • Archive
    • ARCHIVE
    • NEWS ROUND-UPS
  • Forum
  • Donate
  • Newsletter

© 2022 Daily Sceptic.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Create New Account!

Please note: To be able to comment on our articles you'll need to be a registered donor

Already have an account?
Please click here to login Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
wpDiscuz
You are going to send email to

Move Comment