Covid news – live: Hospital admissions continue to rise as experts warn of fifth wave

The number of hospital admissions for Covid-19 in England has risen as experts warn the fifth wave of the virus has already started.

Some 7,822 patients in England had Covid-19 on June 27, up 37 per cent on the previous week, NHS figures show.

It is the highest total for nearly two months but is still some way below the peak of 16,600 patients during the Omicron BA.2 wave.

Professor Tim Spector, of the ZOE Covid symptom study app, said: “We’re in a wave at the moment,” he said, “heading towards a quarter of a million cases a day, that’s a wave already.”

The latest figures show 1.7 million people are testing positive across the UK, a 23 per cent increase on the week before.

Scientists believe the dramatic rise in cases is due to new Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 which have mutated further, thus are able to evade immunity more.

Key Points

• Deaths involving Covid-19 fall slightly

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

• Beijing and Shanghai report no new local Covid infections

• China slashes Covid quarantine time for international travellers

• Covid-19 deaths remain low while infections and hospital numbers rise

China reduces quarantine for people arriving from abroad

13:34 , Joe Middleton

China on Tuesday announced an easing of its quarantine requirement for people arriving from abroad but stopped short of lifting what remains a stringent COVID-19 policy compared to most other countries.

Anyone coming from outside the country will be required to stay in a quarantine hotel for seven days, followed by three days of home observation, the National Health Commission said in its latest pandemic response plan.

The previous plan called for 14 days in a hotel plus seven days of home observation. Pilot programs launched in recent months have already reduced the requirement in seven cities, including Beijing.

China reduces quarantine for people arriving from abroad

Wimbledon Covid-19 guidelines under review in wake of Matteo Berrettini withdrawal

13:00 , Joe Middleton

Wimbledon’s Covid-19 guidelines are under review after Matteo Berrettini and Marin Cilic were both forced to withdraw from the Championships due to positive tests.

Players are currently being asked to test only if they develop Covid symptoms, in line with UK Government guidelines, but Wimbledon are monitoring the situation in the wake of the withdrawal of two top names in the men’s draw.

Berrettini, last year’s finalist and a contender for the title this fortnight at the All England Club, pulled out of the tournament just hours after he was set to open his campaign on Court No 1 on Tuesday afternoon.

Wimbledon Covid-19 guidelines under review in wake of Matteo Berrettini withdrawal

ICYMI: Covid hospital patients in England up by 37 per cent

12:40 , Joe Middleton

Hospital beds taken up by Covid patients have surged by 37 per cent, as experts warn the UK has entered its fifth wave.

The number of Covid positive patients in hospitals across England has jumped to 7,822 – up by more than 2,000 in a week.

As of Monday, the number of patients in critical care jumped to 192 – up from 150 the week prior, according to NHS data.

Rebecca Thomas and Thomas Kingsley report.

Covid hospital patients in England up by 37 per cent

Covid reinfections: How likely are you to catch coronavirus again as cases rise?

12:09 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Covid reinfections and how likely it is to catch virus again - explained

Voices: ‘Does anyone remember Covid? You should – it’s back with a vengeance'

11:49 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Anyone remember Covid? That’s not supposed to be a facetious question. It has taken the lives of approaching 200,000 people in the UK alone (some 196,977 with Covid-19 on the death certificate, at the time of writing). It has destroyed families. It has caused untold harm and grief. It has changed lives forever. Some 400,000 people are living with “long Covid”, many unable to work or lead the active lives they once did.

But now? It is as if it had never happened. Yet there is another wave of Covid coming through, directly after the wave of complacency that has ripped through the nation since restrictions were lifted – too soon and too abruptly – in February, Sean O’Grady writes.

Read more here:

Does anyone remember Covid? You should – it’s back with a vengeance | Sean O’Grady

Covid expert warns public not to be ‘complacent’ with new Omicron subvariants

11:28 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Professor Christina Pagel, director of Clinical Operational Research Unit at UCL, has warned the public not to be “complacent” with Omicron, stating that BA.5 will become the dominant variant in the UK.

The professor added that the new Covid subvariants are more transmissible than previous Omicron strain, BA.2.

Covid-19 deaths remain low while infections and hospital numbers rise

11:02 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

The number of Covid-19 deaths registered in England and Wales continues to remain low, with no evidence yet of the impact of the latest rise in infections.

A total of 264 deaths registered in the seven days to June 17 mentioned coronavirus on the death certificate, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

This is down slightly from 284 deaths in the previous week and remains well below the 1,125 recorded in the peak week of the Omicron BA.2 wave of infections earlier in the year.

Read more here:

Covid-19 deaths remain low while infections and hospital numbers rise

Percentage of people testing positive increases across whole of UK

10:45 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

The percentage of people testing positive for coronavirus (COVID-19) increased in all UK countries in the week ending 18 June 2022 (17 June for Scotland).

The increase was likely caused by infections from Omicron variants BA.4 and BA.5.

The estimated percentage of the community population (those not in hospitals, care homes or other institutional settings) that had COVID-19 in the latest week was:

• 1,360,600 (1 in 40 people) in England

• 68,500 (1 in 45 people) in Wales

• 59,900 (1 in 30 people) in Northern Ireland

• 250,700 (1 in 20 people) in Scotland

Infections increased in the majority of English regions, and in all age groups in England.

Most school pupils in England had COVID-19 antibodies by March 2022

10:33 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Almost all primary and secondary school pupils in England had detectable levels of coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in March 2022.

Adjusted antibody data from the Schools Infection Survey, for March to April 2022, showed that more than 99 per cent of secondary school pupils had SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, comprised of 64.9 per cent who were vaccinated and 34.4 per cent who were unvaccinated.

For primary school pupils, 82.0% had SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, based on adjusted figures. This is comprised of 0.4 per cent who were vaccinated and 81.6 per cent who were unvaccinated.

Covid: Calls for UK booster jabs by autumn as cases continue to rise

10:21 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Covid boosters will be needed in September as cases continue to rise, a government vaccines expert has warned.

Professor Adam Finn, a member of the government’s Joint Committee on Immunisations and Vaccinations, suggested a fifth jab will need to be rolled out for the most vulnerable as immunity to the virus gained by previous booster campaigns wanes.

Professor Finn suggested September would be a good time to start a new booster campaign when the NHS usually also begins rolling out flu vaccines.

Our health correspondent Rebecca Thomas reports:

Calls for Covid booster jabs by autumn as cases continue to rise

Most infectious Covid variants as Omicron fuels rise in UK cases

10:03 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

The UK’s leading scientists have warned the country is seeing a new wave of Covid-19 as infections have started to spike thanks to two more Omicron variants, BA.4 and BA.5.

Here we take a look at the most infectious Covid-19 variants since the pandemic first began:

These are the most infectious Covid variants since the pandemic began

Deaths involving Covid-19 fall slightly

09:40 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

There were 309 deaths registered in the UK involving coronavirus in the week ending 17 June 2022, which is slightly fewer than the previous week. This accounted for around 1 in every 40 deaths (2.5 per cent).

There were 12,320 total deaths registered in the UK in the latest week, which is 15.3 per cent above the five-year average.

In England and Wales, the number of deaths in the week to 17 June was above the five-year average in private homes, hospitals and care homes, but slightly below in other settings.

Beijing and Shanghai report no new local Covid infections

09:33 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Beijing and Shanghai reported on Tuesday no new local Covid infections, the first time both cities were in the clear simultaneously since late February, after months of fighting their worst-ever outbreaks.

The milestone for the two cities, achieved on Monday, came after their daily caseloads dropped to single digits over the past week, allowing Shanghai to gradually resume eating in at restaurants and Beijing to reopen some leisure venues including the Universal Beijing Resort.

Shanghai Communist Party chief Li Qiang declared on Saturday that authorities had “won the war to defend Shanghai” against the virus.

The Walt Disney Co’s Shanghai Disney Resort said on Tuesday that it would reopen the Disneyland theme park on June 30; it had been shut for more than three months.

Authorities, however, were adamant the government’s so-called dynamic zero Covid policy, which aims at blocking flare-ups from spreading as they crop up, remains in place.

Beijing would “fight against any new outbreaks at the outset and with speed and resolutely break their transmission channel”, Cai Qi, the city’s top Communist Party chief, was quoted as saying in a report by the party-backed Beijing Daily.

China slashes COVID quarantine time for international travellers

09:24 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

China has slashed the quarantine time for inbound travellers by half this morning, in a major easing of one of the world’s strictest Covid-19 curbs.

Quarantine at centralised facilities has been cut from 14 to seven days, and subsequent at-home health monitoring has been reduced to three days from seven, the National Health Commission said.

The latest guidelines from the health authority also eased quarantine requirements for close contacts of people who have tested positive for the new coronavirus.

China has cautiously eased its COVID curbs on cross-border travellers in recent months, with health officials saying the shorter incubation period of the Omicron variant allows for an adjustment of quarantine periods.

The Chinese capital Beijing in recent months has already reduced the quarantine period at centralised facilities to 10 days from 14.

China, last month, also removed some COVID-19 test requirements for people flying in from countries such as the United States.

“We believe that today’s announcement will be welcomed by the American business community,” the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai said on its official WeChat account.

The quarantine adjustment will make it easier for companies to bring staff to China, and for Chinese companies and their executives to visit the United States, AmCham said.

Covid reinfections: How likely are you to catch coronavirus again as cases rise?

09:10 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

More than two years on from the first cases in the UK, millions of Britons have caught the virus and some will have had it on multiple occasions

But just how likely is a reinfection, and how much protection do vaccines and booster shots offer?

Here’s everything you need to know:

Covid reinfections and how likely it is to catch virus again - explained

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

09:08 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

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.

There are concerns that the return of mass events for the first time after the pandemic – such as Glastonbury over the weekend, Notting Hill Carnival and the Edinburgh Festival in August – will see Covid continue to spiral upward.

My colleague Thomas Kingsley reports:

UK in ‘fifth Covid wave’ as experts warn summer events will see new surge in cases

09:05 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

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.