Doctors take a patient from an ambulance to the Royal London hospital in London on January 19, 2021.
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LONDON – A third national blockade in England appears to have had little impact in increasing the rate of coronavirus infections, according to the results of a large study, “with no evidence of a decline” in the prevalence of the virus during the first 10 days of further restrictions. hard.
The closely observed REACT-1 study, led by Imperial College London, warned that health services would remain under “extreme pressure” and the cumulative number of deaths would increase rapidly unless the prevalence of the virus in the community was reduced substantially.
The findings of the prepress report, published Thursday by Imperial College London and Ipsos MORI, came shortly after the UK recorded another historic high in coronavirus deaths.
Government figures released on Wednesday showed that an additional 1,820 people died in 28 days after a positive Covid test. To date, the UK has recorded 3.5 million coronavirus cases, with 93,290 deaths.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks during a coronavirus (COVID-19) press conference on Downing Street on January 15, 2021 in London, England.
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Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the latest figures are “scary” and warned: “There are still difficult weeks ahead.”
Johnson imposed blocking measures in England on January 5, instructing people to “stay home” as most schools, bars and restaurants were forced to close. The strict public health measures are expected to remain in effect until at least mid-February.
What were the main conclusions?
The REACT-1 study tests nose and throat smears of 120,000 to 180,000 people in the community in England at approximately monthly intervals. The most recent results mainly covered a period from 6 January to 15 January.
The study compared the results with swabs collected between November 13th and November 24th and those collected between November 25th and December 3rd.
The researchers found 1,962 positives out of 142,909 swabs collected during the January period. This means that 1.58% of the people tested had Covid at a weighted average.
This represents an increase of more than 50% in prevalence rates since the results of the study in mid-December and is the highest recorded by REACT-1 since the beginning in May 2020.
The prevalence of 6 to 15 January was higher in London, according to the study, with 1 in 36 people infected, more than double the rate of previous REACT-1 results.
A man wearing a mask as a preventive measure against the spread of Covid-19 walks through London.
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Infections also more than doubled in southeastern England, eastern England and the West Midlands compared to results published in early December.
“Our data show worrying suggestions for a recent increase in infections that we will continue to monitor closely,” said Professor Paul Elliott, program director at Imperial, in a statement.
“We all have a role to play in preventing the situation from getting worse and we must do our best to stay at home whenever possible,” he added.
The UK Department of Health and Social Care said the full impact of the blockade measures would not yet be reflected in the prevalence figures reported in the REACT-1 study.
“These findings show why we should not let our guard down in the coming weeks,” said Health Secretary Matt Hancock.
“It is absolutely essential that everyone does their part to reduce infections. That means staying at home and only going out when absolutely necessary, reducing contact with others and maintaining social distance, ”said Hancock.