England and Scotland see sharp rise in covid and flu cases as hospitals struggle

Just over 4% of people in England and Scotland—around one in 24—may have had covid-19 last week, says the latest release from the Winter Coronavirus Infection Study.1Data released by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) showed that on 13 December the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 was estimated to be 4.3% (95% credible interval 3.3% to 5.4%) in England and 4.1% (3.0% to 5.6%) in Scotland. This is a sharp rise from the estimated 1.8% prevalence seen at the end of November.The highest rates were seen in people aged 18 to 44, and London was the region worst affected. The study collects as many as 30 000 self-reported lateral flow test results every week, as well as questionnaire responses, from around 150 000 participants in England and Scotland.Steven Riley, UKHSA director general for data and surveillance, said, “At this time of year the cold weather, shorter days, and increased socialising mean that…
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