Covid UK: Daily hospital admissions breach 1,000 for first time since February as cases jump 4.4%

More than 1,000 Covid patients were admitted to hospital in a single day last week for the first time since February, official data shows as Britain’s daily cases grew again and deaths fell.

In its usual daily update, the Department of Health and Social Care revealed that 1,019 people were hospitalised with the virus across the country on August 25.

It marks the first time there have been four-figure Covid admissions since February 24 when the second wave was being brought under control and the jab rollout was just gaining momentum.

The DOH update — which often includes backlogged hospital data due to the way it’s recorded — showed there were a further 943 Covid admissions on August 26 and 901 on August 27, which were both week-on-week rises.

Meanwhile, there was a mixed picture as UK-wide infections increased by 4 per cent in a week to 32,181 but England’s case numbers fell again, this time by 10 per cent.

Crises in Scotland — attributed to schools going back in mid-August — and Northern Ireland, where vaccine uptake has been slightly lower than the rest of the UK, will be playing a role.

But there are fears England and Wales could see cases trend upwards again when classes go back this week and next, which has reignited the debate about jabbing children.

The Government’s Covid dashboard also shows that there were 50 deaths registered in the past 24 hours, a drop of more than 70 per cent. The unusually low toll is believed to be due to a recording lag over the bank holiday weekend. 

It comes as a series of timelapse maps lay bare how the Delta Covid variant has rapidly engulfed every corner of the UK since exploding onto the scene in spring.

Data from the Government’s coronavirus dashboard shows that even areas which were virtually coronavirus-free just four months ago are now recording some of the highest infection rates in the country.

The UK is averaging more than 33,000 new infections every day, which is the highest since the second wave was still raging in January, excluding a blip during Euro 2020 when cases briefly rose above that number.

And while hospital admissions and deaths are still at a fraction of the level in winter, there are concerns that high levels of Covid in the community and waning vaccine immunity could spill into more casualties.

The maps show that, despite the ultra-infectious Delta strain being seeded in England in late April, it is actually Scotland and Northern Ireland that now appear to be bearing the brunt of the third wave.

All 10 of the highest Covid infection rates in the past week were in local authorities in Northern Ireland and the Scottish central belt.

Fermanagh and Omagh, which covers most of the Southwest of Northern Ireland, had a rate of 1,056 cases per 100,000 in the seven days to August 25 — three times the UK average. It was followed by Derry City and Strabane (986).

Rounding out the top 10 worst-hit areas were all places in Scotland, with West Dunbartonshire (983), East Dunbartonshire (975) and North Lanarkshire (913) seeing the highest prevalence. 

The rise in Scotland has been attributed to increased mixing in schools after the summer holidays finished in mid-August, and there are fears England and Wales could be next when classes go back this week and next.     

It is not clear exactly why Northern Ireland is being hit so hard this time around because schools are not due to restart there until this week, either. But the country has the lowest vaccine uptake in the UK with about 82 per cent of adults having received at least one jab.