335 new deaths due to Covid-19 and 109,133 new infections reported in 24 hours. The number of deaths in the past 7 days (1,828) equates on average to around 261 deaths on each of those days. If this was to be the “new normal” for daily deaths caused by Covid-19, then annually this would equate to around 95,317 deaths across the UK.


First published in January 2022.












Note: UK data (including the data noted below) will not necessarily fully reflect the numbers in specific measures. where there are data issues, e.g. delays due to IT issues, or reporting arrangements for the four nations.

  • 335 deaths due to coronavirus have been reported in the last 24 hours.
  • 109,133 new coronavirus infections in 24 hours – the actual number UK-wide is potentially higher.
  • The total number of coronavirus infections reported across the UK in the last 7 days was 967,877, while in the last 28 days 3,902,320 infections have been reported [highest 28-day number ever recorded].
  • 1,828 deaths due to coronavirus have been reported in the last 7 days the highest weekly number since 3 March 2021.
  • The number of deaths in the past week equates on average to around 261 deaths each of the past 7 days. If this was to be the “new normal” for daily deaths caused by Covid-19, then annually this would equate to around 95,317 deaths across the UK.
  • Meanwhile, 4,407 deaths due to Covid-19 have been reported across the UK in the last 28 days.
  • 2,184 Covid-19 hospital admissions occurred on 9 January 2022.
  • 19,721 patients suffering from Covid-19 are currently occupying hospital beds according to the latest dashboard data.
  • 785 Covid-19 patients are occupying mechanical ventilation beds – according to the data reported on 12 January 2022.
  • All three of these healthcare measures a continuing concern for our now seriously under-pressure NHS.
⏳
LONG COVID UK ESTIMATE (ONS, as of 6 January 2021)
🚨 1,300,000 cases
🚨 1 in 51 people currently live with long COVID


SO FAR:

  • 714 days since the first infection due to the SARS-CoV-2 virus was reported in Britain (31 January 2020).
  • 678 days since the first reported death (7 March 2020). Coronavirus has now been responsible for infecting almost 15 million people in England (according to the official reported positive cases data).
  • In this time, the virus has been responsible for at least 151,342 deaths (within 28 days of a first positive test result). Official data also currently indicate there have been 174,233 deaths in total, where the deceased person’s death certificate mentioned COVID-19 as one of the causes, registered up to Friday 31 December 2021, according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).




Note: The data for deaths attributed to COVID-19 – each following a reported positive test result for COVID-19 within 28 days of their death.


(Source: UK Health Security Agency)






ENGLAND


  • 11 January

If you get a positive rapid lateral flow test result, most people will not need to take a PCR test to confirm the result. You must self-isolate immediately if you get a positive rapid lateral flow test result.

  • 9 January

From 4am on 9 January, if you qualify as fully vaccinated, you can take either a rapid lateral flow or PCR test within 2 days of arriving in England. If you have a positive result on the rapid lateral flow test, you must take a PCR test.

  • 7 January

From 4am on 7 January, if you qualify as fully vaccinated or are under 18, you do not need to take a PCR test before you travel to England or self-isolate when you arrive.

  • 4 January

Face coverings are recommended in schools with pupils in year 7 and above. They should be worn in most classrooms, and by pupils, students, staff and adult visitors when moving around buildings.

WALES


  • 6 January

If you get a positive rapid lateral flow test result, most people will not need to take a PCR test to confirm the result. You must self-isolate immediately if you get a positive rapid lateral flow test result.

  • 31 December

People who have tested positive for COVID-19 must self-isolate for 7 full days. On days 6 and 7 they should take rapid lateral flow tests 24 hours apart. If the results are positive, they should continue to self-isolate until they get 2 negative tests, or after day 10, whichever is sooner. If they are negative they can stop self-isolating. Find out more about self-isolation on GOV.WALES.

  • 26 December

Wales is at alert level 2. A maximum of 6 people can meet in venues such as pubs, restaurants, cinemas and theatres (‘rule of 6’), 30 people at indoor events and 50 people at outdoor events. 2-metre social distancing is required in public premises and offices. Nightclubs are closed. Find out more on GOV.WALES.

SCOTLAND


  • 17 January

Most people will need to have had a booster dose to be recognised as fully vaccinated under the COVID certification scheme.

Restrictions on numbers at outdoor events are lifted. Indoor events remain limited to 100 people standing and 200 people sitting. The COVID certification scheme must be used for both outdoor and indoor events.

  • 6 January

If you are a close contact of someone with COVID–19 and you are fully vaccinated along with your booster dose, you can take daily rapid lateral flow tests for 7 days instead of self-isolating. If you test positive or develop symptoms during this time you should self-isolate for 10 days.

If you test positive for COVID-19 you should self-isolate for 10 days. You can end self-isolation early if you do not have a high temperature and get 2 negative lateral flow test results on days 6 and 7, taken at least 24 hours apart.

If you do not have symptoms and get a positive rapid lateral flow test result, you must self-isolate. You do not need to take a PCR test to confirm your result.

Find out more on gov.scot

  • 27 December

Up to 3 households can meet with 1-metre physical distancing between groups at indoor and outdoor venues like bars, restaurants, theatres, cinemas and gyms. Table service will be needed if alcohol is being served.

  • 26 December

Large events will have 1-metre physical distancing and will be limited to 100 people standing indoors, 200 people sitting indoors and 500 people outdoors.

NORTHERN IRELAND


  • 5 January

If you get a positive rapid lateral flow test result, you should isolate immediately. You no longer need to book a PCR test.

  • 31 December

People who test positive for COVID-19 should isolate for 10 days from their PCR test date or when symptoms started, whichever is sooner. People can end self-isolation early if they get two negative rapid lateral flow tests – one from day 6 and the second at least 24 hours later.

  • 27 December

You should reduce social contact as much as possible by meeting in groups of no more than 3 households.

Up to 6 people can meet in pubs, bars and restaurants, or up to 10 people if they’re all from the same household. Only table service is available.

2-metre social distancing is required in public premises and offices. Find out more about changes in Northern Ireland.

  • 26 December

Indoor standing events are not permitted. Nightclubs are closed.


(Source: Gov.uk)







  • More than 96% of the population have COVID-19 antibodies

According to the ONS, in England, it is estimated that 97.5% of the adult population (95% credible interval: 97.0% to 97.9%) would have tested positive for antibodies against COVID-19 in the week beginning 20 December 2021.

In Wales, an estimated 96.8% of the adult population (95% credible interval: 95.9% to 97.5%) would have tested positive for antibodies against COVID-19 in the same week.

In Northern Ireland, it is estimated that 97.4% of the adult population (95% credible interval: 96.0% to 98.2%) would have tested positive for antibodies against COVID-19 in the same week.

In Scotland, it is estimated that 97.7% of the adult population (95% credible interval: 97.1% to 98.2%) would have tested positive for antibodies against COVID-19 in the same week.

Going further...


(Source: Office for National Statistics)














Let’s be absolutely clear about this, “reducing the isolation period to five days runs the risk of highly infectious people returning to work or school”, and of infecting vulnerable family and friends; so what’s the real reason for making such a change? If patients infected with Omicron do shed virus for longer after symptoms emerge, this surely raises further serious questions about reducing the period of isolation for people testing positive. When will the government ‘genuinely’ follow ‘the’ science? – Dr Joe Pajak.







Calling Omicron ‘Mild’ Is Wishful Thinking
We are far past the point of hoping that this variant will spare us.
The AtlanticKatherine J. Wu
A consultant anaesthetist who refuses to take a vaccine?
A very informative and articulate take on the unvaccinated consultant anaesthetist who challenged Sajid Javid in a hospital, and the implications of his views.
PMP MagazineDr Meenal Viz
What are the symptoms of omicron?
Omicron is continuing the trend set by delta, causing symptoms that resemble the common cold, suggesting that the current government’s guidance for PCR testing (based on only three symptoms) is woefully outdated.
PMP MagazineProfessor Tim Spector
How to make sense of the UK’s new testing rules.
Understanding the difference between COVID tests can help explain why the rules keep changing.
PMP MagazineDr Simon Kolstoe
You don’t end a pandemic simply by declaring it over.
The views of experts and health professionals on the Omicron variant, the government’s handling of the situation, and the lack of mitigations in schools as the NHS struggles to cope with the crisis...
PMP MagazinePMP News
Why transmission among the triple-vaxxed shouldn’t alarm you.
Why breakthrough infections in people who have had three jabs shouldn’t alarm you. And why vaccination and protective measures, such as more face mask use, greater testing, and better ventilation, all have an important part to play.
PMP MagazineDr Andrew Lee
Schools are stuck in 2020 too.
It’s a new year. But it somehow still feels like 2020 too. We know so much more about COVID yet we are still having the same conversations we had in 2020, Stephanie Salgado writes.
PMP MagazineParents United
Masks in schools is not a matter of opinion. It works.
Suggesting that the benefit of wearing face masks at school to limit the spread of COVID-19 is more based on hope than evidence is misinformation. Even when it comes from the BBC.
PMP MagazineDr Deepti Gurdasani







■ 🧬 COG-UK sequencing



(Source: COG-UK)

■ 🧬 UKHSA genomically confirmed case numbers

(Source: UK Health Security Agency)







📈 UK COVID-19 data


Data up to 13 January 2022.

(Source: UK Health Security Agency)


■ 🧮 Case & Death Totals
🦠 14,967,817 positive cases so far to date (recorded) – Since the first case was reported at the end of January 2020
🕯️ 151,342 deaths so far – Number recorded within 28 days of first positive test result
🕯️ 174,233 total deaths – Total number of people whose death certificate mentioned Covid-19 as one of the causes – Registered up to Friday 31 December 2021














💉 Vaccination UK






(Source: UK Health Security Agency + Public Health Wales
+ Public Health Scotland + HSC NI + ONS)


Note: Data cross-referenced with the latest official data from the UK dashboard.







■ Estimated ®️ Number

(Sources: UK Health Security Agency + Welsh Government
+ Scottish Government + N-I Ministry of Health)


■ Population Testing Positive for COVID-19

(Source: ONS)


■ Number of contact tracing alerts sent (England & Wales)

(Source: NHS)


■ Stringency Index

(Source: University of Oxford)


PMP Magazine


📚 Data Sources:


PMP Xtra

Total UK population: 67,081,234 (last year: 66,796,800), via ONS (subject to changes in population over the year). These figures were updated on 25 June 2021.
(Source ▪ ONS)






📈 Full Daily UK #COVID19 Charts & Comments via #TodayInCovid: www.pmp-magazine.com/tag/today-in-covid/

🦠 Everything #COVID19: www.pmp-magazine.com/covid19/

🗃️ Sources: @CovidGenomicsUK | @UKHSA | @ONS

🧮 Special thanks: @JoePajak & #NHS



— AUTHORS —

▫ Dr Joe Pajak, PhD in physical chemistry: exploring the data, governor of an NHS FT hospital.
▫ J.N. PAQUET, Author & Journalist, Editor of PMP Magazine.
GET THEM INVOLVED:


Sources
  • Text: This piece was first published in PMP Magazine on 13 January 2022. | The authors write in a personal capacity.
  • Data cross-referenced with the latest official data from the UK dashboard.
  • Cover: Adobe Stock/SergeyBitos.
  • Icons from www.flaticon.com

Today in COVID