More patients hospitalized since April

The number of coronavirus patients being treated in England is higher than at the peak of the first wave and the number of infections has reached a new record, according to a British health official.

Yesterday, Monday morning, 20,426 people were hospitalized in England from the disease, compared to 18,974 at the peak of the first wave, on April 12.

The number of people infected in just one day in the UK rose to 41,385, exceeding the 40,000 mark for the first time, according to official figures. In all, more than 2.3 million people have been tested positive for the virus in Britain, of whom at least 71,000 have died.

“Many of us have lost family members, friends, colleagues and – at a time of the year that is normally festive – many people naturally feel anxious, depressed and tired,” said the director general of the National Health Service (NHS). of England, Simon Stevens. “And to be at the center of the storm again with a second wave of coronavirus sweeping Europe and this country,” he added.

Hospital services are “very, very overwhelmed”, said Matthew Kershaw, a hospital official in Croydon, south London, speaking to the BBC about a “difficult time”.

The British government is counting on vaccines to get out of the crisis. The Drugs and Health Products Regulatory Authority (MHRA) is expected to give its opinion in the coming days on the vaccine developed by the British laboratory AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford, after the approval of the Pfizer / BioNTech that has been administered to more 600,000 people as of December 8.

Simon Stevens estimated that “only at the end of spring” will all the people belonging to the vulnerable groups in the country be vaccinated. “This is perhaps the greatest glimmer of hope for the coming year,” he said.

Sources: AFP