LONDON – Britain’s national health service is hitting the worst weeks of the pandemic as a new, more contagious form of the coronavirus tears across the country, putting hospitals under more extreme stress than in the spring.
A combination of a more contagious version of the virus, less compliance with social restrictions and changing hospital procedures has created a storm for the state-run health service as it seeks to endure a surge of Covid-19 infections.
‘I think this situation is really very serious. It is deteriorating rapidly, ”says Dr Daniele Bryden, a doctor and vice-dean of the Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine. “We know it’s going to be very difficult for three weeks.”
The new variant – which according to scientists is between 50% and 70% more transmissible than older versions – has been combined with meetings over Christmas to push daily new reported cases to record levels, government scientists say. New cases seem to be flattening out at high levels, but it will take time before any benefits are passed on to hospitals.
There are now more people in hospital than in any phase of the pandemic in April last year, with 32,300 Covid-19 patients currently being admitted to hospital, compared to about 21,700 in the spring.