Thanasis Gavos, London
The fact that the number of coronavirus carriers in England is much lower than last year, although the incidence is about three times higher, and that daily admissions to Omicron-centric London remain within tolerable levels, leading Boris Johnson to decision not to announce strictly restrictive measures in anticipation of the New Year.
It is noted that the decision for England contradicts the imposition of restrictions imposed by the decentralized governments of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Daily coronavirus cases in England in the previous three days ranged from 98 on Monday to a record 113 thousand on Christmas day.
The number of Covid patients in hospitals in England was 8,474 on Monday. This is an increase of 27% in one week and the highest report since the beginning of March.
But it is also less than half of the 18,350 patients treated in the same period last year, when the number of cases was about 31,000. At the height of the previous major wave of the pandemic, in mid-January, the number of coronavirus patients treated in England had reached 34,336.
The daily admission of Covid patients to English hospitals reached 1,281 on Christmas day, which was the most since February 16 and an increase of 74% in one week. At the height of the pandemic on January 12, there were 4,100 imports into England.
At the height of the Omicron variant in London, daily imports reached 364 at Christmas, up 73% on a weekly basis, but slightly lower than the 390 imports on Christmas Eve.
A crucial criterion for action in England is believed to be whether the daily imports of Covid players in the capital will exceed the limit of 400.
It is noted that in January London hospitals had reached 977 admissions per day.
The total number of coronavirus carriers hospitalized in London is 2,640, while in the same period last year it was 4,591.
Of concern is the increase in the number of patients on a ventilator in the capital, which in one week increased from 206 to 232.
The director of intensive care clinics at Oxford University Hospitals, Dr Ragib Ali, commented that the figures for inpatients and admissions were better than expected, although he noted that for the public health system the stress was also due to staff Omicron variant.
Public health officials also note that at present the number of older and therefore more vulnerable citizens in need of intensive care due to coronavirus is not very large, probably due to the fact that 93% of citizens over the age of 60 have undergone dose of vaccine.
Also, the hospital stay of Omicron carriers is shorter compared to Delta and the symptoms are milder, while a significant percentage of patients are diagnosed positive for coronavirus after being admitted to hospital for another reason, ie not for severe symptoms of COVID-19 .
However, there are many experts who warn that free gatherings during the holiday season and especially mixing of different ages could cause a bigger wave of infections in the elderly and potentially an increase in hospitalizations in the coming weeks.
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