New Covid infection wave 'likely' in Scotland due to BA.4 and BA.5 virus variants
dailyrecord.co.ukA new wave of coronavirus is looking likely in Scotland and the rest of the UK, a Scottish immunologist has warned. The number of people estimated to have been infected with Covid has risen in the last week according to the Office for National Statistics’ (ONS) infection study.It has been estimated that 124,000 were infected with the virus in Scotland in the week ending June 2 - which equates to one in 40 people, or 2.36 per cent of the population.This is a rise on an estimate of 105,900 in the previous week.
There has also been an uptick in the number of people in hospital with Covid in Scotland. The latest Public Health Scotland data shows that 749 were receiving treatment for the virus as of June 12 - a rise from 637 the week previous.
It is understood that the rise in case estimates is down the BA.4 and BA.5 strains of the virus - both of which were identified as ‘variants of concern’ by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).
Professor Denis Kinane, an immunologist and founding scientist at Cignpost Diagnostics, claimed that the UK is staring down the barrel on a new of infection.
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