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| Infections rates amongst young people are now beginning to spread to older age groups in parts of England REUTERS/Phil Noble |
The number of COVID-19 patients in hospitals is rising rapidly in northern England and could outstrip the rate seen during the first wave of the virus, a senior health official said on Monday.
“We now have more patients in hospital with COVID-19 than we did when the government announced restrictions on March 23,” Stephen Powis, the National Medical Director of NHS England, told a media conference.
However the problem of increasing COVID-19 cases in England is not limited to the north of England, Deputy Chief Medical Officer Jonathan Van-Tam said on Monday.
“Pretty much all areas of the UK are now seeing growth in the infection rates,” Van Tam told a government briefing, presenting the latest data on infections.
He also said that high COVID-19 infections rates amongst young people are now beginning to spread to older age groups in parts of England predicting the pattern would continue elsewhere.
“This is, again, of a significant concern … because, of course, the elderly suffer a much worse course with COVID-19. They are admitted to hospital for longer periods, and they are more difficult to save,” Van-Tam said at a government briefing presenting charts on the spread of the virus.
REUTERS
