DAILY Covid cases in the UK have fallen today as the official R rate crept up this week and could be as high as 1.3 in some areas, new data has revealed.
Infections fell by four per cent with another 84,053 Brits testing positive for the bug.
Deaths have also fallen today by 19 per cent with a further 254 being reported, down on 303 deaths yesterday.
It comes as one in 20 people in England now have Omicron, with vaccines keeping the majority of people out of hospital and free of severe infection.
Data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) shows that the R rate in England is currently between 0.8 and 1.1 – up from last week’s rate of 0.7 – 0.9.
Last week’s rate had been the lowest on record since March 2021, when the UK was still in lockdown after the Alpha variant had swept in over the Christmas period.
It comes as Sage experts today warned Covid may not settle into seasonality – as in becoming more like the common cold – for another decade globally.
They also predicted cases will fall in the summer, but the figures and virus will be uncertain and remain a risk for the next few years.
Also in latest papers, scientists said hospital admissions are going down throughout the UK – with daily deaths expected to be under 100 by February 13.
Today hospital rates remain low across the UK and deaths were down by 43 per cent – with a further 303 being recorded.
The R rate could be as high as 1.3 in the South East of England, with the growth rate in the region also sitting between 0 to +5.
The growth rate across England is -3 per cent per day to +1 per cent.
A growth rate of this size means that the number of new infections could be broadly flat, growing by up to 1 per cent or shrinking by up to 3 per cent every day.
The South West follows the South East, with an R rate of 1 to 1.2.
The Midlands and the East of England are both sat between 0.8 -1.1 and London and the North East and Yorkshire are sat between 0.8 – 1.0.
The North West has the lowest R rate in the country and is currently between 0.7 to 1.
Over the last week infections have remained stable despite a slight increase due to a change in metric in the way the government counts data.
Yesterday a further 88,171 people tested positive with the bug – with some experts claiming the true toll could be much higher, as they claim some people are not reporting their negative lateral flow tests.
But while cases are high, most people testing positive are experiencing milder cold-like symptoms, as Omicron has been proven to be less severe than the variants that have come before it – especially in the vaccinated.
Covid booster jabs protect against Omicron and offer the best chance to get through the pandemic, health officials have repeatedly said.
Trending In The News’s Jabs Army campaign is helping get the vital extra vaccines in Brits’ arms to ward off the need for any new restrictions.
Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) found the risk of death involving Covid-19 is 93 per cent lower for people who have had a booster or third dose of vaccine compared with unvaccinated.
Many kids are still yet to have vaccines, with ONS data showing the percentage of those aged 2 to Year 6 remained very high in the week ending 29 January 2022.
Infection rates also increased in those in school Year 7 to school Year 11, and for those aged 35 to 49 years.
But encouragingly the percentage of people testing positive decreased in those aged 25 to 34 and those over 50.
A separate report from the ONS also found mortality rates for Covid deaths were found to be “consistently lower” across all age groups for those who had received a booster.
