The following points [ONS] are for the week ending 14 September 2022 for England and Wales, and the week ending 13 September for Northern Ireland and Scotland. The data are clearly lagging Zoe...
- The percentage of people testing positive for coronavirus (COVID-19) increased in England and Wales, and decreased in Northern Ireland and Scotland.
- In England, the estimated number of people testing positive for COVID-19 was 766,500 (95% credible interval: 714,800 to 822,400), equating to 1.41% of the population, or around 1 in 70 people.
- In Wales, the estimated number of people testing positive for COVID-19 was 39,700 (95% credible interval: 29,800 to 51,900), equating to 1.31% of the population, or around 1 in 75 people.
- In Northern Ireland, the estimated number of people testing positive for COVID-19 was 22,900 (95% credible interval: 15,000 to 32,800), equating to 1.25% of the population, or around 1 in 80 people.
- In Scotland, the estimated number of people testing positive for COVID-19 was 98,800 (95% credible interval: 80,300 to 119,100), equating to 1.88% of the population, or around 1 in 55 people.
https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopula...uscovid19infectionsurveypilot/23september2022
"There are also new variants. While Omicron has dominated in the UK since last winter, it has numerous “daughter” forms. The BA.5 sub-variant is the most common, but experts are keeping their eyes on others including BA4.6, BF.7, BA.2.75.2 and BQ.1.1.
As Dr Thomas Peacock, of Imperial College London, points out, recent data suggest the latter two each account for less than 0.5% of Covid genetic sequences in the UK – but they are growing fast. “It’s entirely possible an autumn/winter wave is driven by a mixture of variants,” Peacock said.
Prof Tom Wenseleers, an evolutionary biologist at the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium, said BA.2.75.2 and BQ1.1 have mutations in their spike protein that help them to partly escape from BA.5-induced immunity.
“Combined with the fact that Covid hospitalisations have already started rising again in the UK, and that the full effect of these variants still isn’t felt, I would say this is not such great news,” he said."
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...ve-could-be-worse-than-the-last-as-cases-rise