Covid-19: how Omicron is impacting the UK healthcare system?

The situation remains difficult in the United Kingdom. In the northwest of the country, around one in ten people had Covid in the first week of January. A significant rate of circulation indicative of the pressure still exerted by the Omicron variant. According to data from thecountry health agency, the reproduction rate of the Covid was estimated this Friday, January 14 between 1.1 and 1.5.

However, it was between 1.2 and 1.5 the previous week. A slight improvement which therefore gives hope for a gradual decrease in the coming days.

However, the situation is far from uniform. Indeed, if the peak of contamination seems to have been reached in London, the levels of infection continue to increase in all the other regions, with the exception of the east of the country. This evolution of the epidemic is also found when we observe the figures for hospitalizations in the country.

According to official data, the hospital admission rate fell very significantly on the London side during the week of January 9, compared to the previous week, from an admission rate per 100,000 inhabitants of 24.27 to 18.40. The admission rate also fell slightly in the northeast of the country.

Conversely, hospitalizations have increased in most other regions and in particular in the North West of England, which has seen the largest increase. From the week ending January 2 to the week ending January 9, the hospital admission rate increased from 17.05 to 28.42.

Despite some signs of an improvement in the situation, the pressure exerted by the Omicron variant on the British healthcare system therefore remains strong. As of January 12, 19,721 patients were still hospitalized in the United Kingdom, including 785 in intensive care.

Faced with a lack of beds, but also of personnel, also impacted by the wave of contamination, the British health system relies on the private service to manage to provide care outside the Covid. The British Minister of Defense also announced last week the deployment of medical personnel from the army to make up for the shortages of caregivers.

Figures in England are being watched closely in France where the outbreak is held to be around a week late. In France, if the number of hospitalized patients is still increasing, the number of new admissions is starting to decrease slightly.