Covid news: Omicron subvariant spreads as UK cases surge - as it happened
Coronavirus cases are steadily increasing after lifting of restrictions last month
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Your support makes all the difference.Covid cases are rising across the UK with the "Stealth Omicron" variant accounting for 57 per cent of cases in England.
Stealth Omicron is a subvariant of the Omicron mutation which experts fear might be more transmissible.
The latest data from the Office for National Statistics Covid-19 Infections Survey showed an increase in cases across the whole of the UK.
Separate figures show there more than 72,000 new cases reporterd on 13 March, down from 84,000 on 10 March.
Sajid Javid, the health secretary, said on Monday morning a rise in infections was to be "expected" following the easing of Covid-19 restrictions in England in February.
Meanwhile, Mr Javid said that a “handful” of cases of the so-called Deltacron variant had been identified in the UK, but were “not of particular concern”.
He said that the UK remains in a “very good position” but he urged adults eligible for a booster vaccine to come forward and get the jab.
Hospitals ease visiting restrictions despite Covid uptick
Several NHS hospitals have eased visiting restrictions following national guidance, despite an increase in Covid-19 admissions.
A handful of hospitals across the country eased their visiting restrictions last week after NHS national guidance said patients should be allowed for one hour a day and to have two visitors.
Our health correspondent Rebecca Thomas reports:
Hospitals ease visiting restrictions despite Covid uptick
Hospital visiting rules eased by some trusts despite increasing Covid hospital cases
Jilin scrambles to contain virus surge
A northeastern Chinese province on Monday imposed a rare travel ban on its population as the region’s Omicron outbreak helped drive China’s tally of new local COVID-19 cases so far this year higher than any recorded in 2021.
Mainland China reported 1,337 new domestically transmitted COVID infections with confirmed symptoms on March 13, the National Health Commission said on Monday. That brought the registered total this year to more than 9,000, compared with 8,378 in 2021, according to Reuters calculations.
Over 30% of the 2022 cases were found in the northeastern province of Jilin, which is scrambling to rein in the fast spread of the Omicron BA.2 sub-variant of the coronavirus.
Jilin, which spans 187,400 sq km, announced that all its 24.1 million residents were prohibited from travelling out of or into the province, or across different areas within the province.
Moscow mayor ends mask requirement, citing improving COVID situation
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin on Monday cancelled a long-standing requirement for people to wear protective medical masks in public, citing the improving situation with COVID-19 and the need to support businesses facing sanctions pressure.
Daily coronavirus cases peaked at 203,949 on Feb. 11 as the highly contagious Omicron variant spread rapidly across the country, but have fallen steadily since then. On Monday, 41,055 new infections were recorded.
The drop off in coronavirus-related deaths has been less pronounced. The government coronavirus task force reported 533 deaths in the last 24 hours across the country on Monday, down from a high of 1,254 on Nov. 20, 2021.
In Moscow, a city of around 13 million people, there were 957 new infections and 44 deaths reported on Monday.
“Steady improvement in the epidemiological situation allows us to take a long-awaited decision,” Sobyanin wrote on his personal website. “From Tuesday, March 15, we are cancelling the requirement to use protective masks.”
US seeks to expand Trump-era Covid data collection under CDC
The Biden administration wants to expand a federal COVID-19 tracking system created during the pandemic to provide a more detailed view of how respiratory and other infectious diseases are affecting patients and hospital resources, according to a draft of proposed rules reviewed by Reuters.
The plan would build upon a hospital data collection system designed by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under the Trump administration. Management of the program was transferred last month to HHS’s lead public health agency, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The change comes amid criticism over the CDC’s shifting public health guidance during the pandemic and its ability to collect and analyze COVID data in a timely and transparent way.
Authorization for the current hospital data tracking program is due to expire once the government lifts the national state of pandemic emergency.
The proposed plan would ensure it remains in place long term and add new requirements of the nearly 6,200 participating hospitals, such as providing data on the number of patients with flu-like illnesses and other diseases with pandemic potential in addition to COVID and influenza.
One further Covid death in Northern Ireland
Another 1,822 confirmed cases of the virus have also been notified in the last 24-hour reporting period.
On Monday morning there were 463 Covid-19 patients in hospital, with four in intensive care.
One further person who had previously tested positive for Covid-19 has died in Northern Ireland, the Department of Health said.
One further Covid death in Northern Ireland
Another 1,822 confirmed cases of the virus have also been notified in the last 24-hour reporting period.
On Monday morning there were 463 Covid-19 patients in hospital, with four in intensive care.
One further person who had previously tested positive for Covid-19 has died in Northern Ireland, the Department of Health said.
1,805 people with Covid in Scottish hospitals
There were 1,805 people in hospital on Sunday with recently confirmed Covid-19, up 142 on the previous day, according to latest figures.
Meanwhile, there were 27 people in intensive care, up four, the data showed.
The Scottish Government said that due to a technical issue, Public Health Scotland (PHS) have been unable to provide the latest data on cases, deaths and vaccinations.
It said PHS is working hard to resolve the issue and hope to return to normal reporting on Tuesday.
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