Thread by @dgurdasani1

Predictable but worrying data showing continuing rises in daily case numbers and a increases in hospitalisations. We're now seeing 500 daily hospitalisations, and some NHS trusts are already having to cancel routine operations & delay cancer care. 🧵

The spread among school-age children and young adults is frankly quite shocking. The almost vertical line here says it all.

Most outbreaks are in educational settings - rapid increases week on week. Large numbers of outbreaks in both primary and secondary schools.

>10,000 people who were confirmed positive last week had attended primary school & >13,000 had attended secondary school.

The most common activity reported by those testing positive prior to symptom onset was attending an educational or childcare setting.

Case incidence in college students, secondary school children, and young adults is skyrocketing right now, and is near the January peak, when schools were closed due to uncontrolled spread.

Broken up by year group- huge increases in a single week.

Both REACT-1 and ONS data - that are not based on symptom based testing - confirm this pattern. Highest infection prevalence in young adults and secondary school children.

Hospitalisations still rising among the elderly, where vaccine uptake and full dosing is very high.

All in all this is incredibly worrying, and will have huge impacts on long-term health among the young, our frontline NHS staff, and routine healthcare. And of course, increases the probability of spawning new variants, with more escape against vaccines.

Here's our letter in the Lancet signed by hundreds of scientists and health care workers asking for government to take urgent action now to protect our public.

Scientists/healthcare staff can sign to support here:

johnsnowmemo.com/summitdeclarat…

thelancet.com/journals/lance…