Nearly 3.5 million people in Britain were infected in the first week of July, but the public and politicians are relaxed or indifferent about a new COVID-19 wave sweeping Europe in the middle of summer.
| It may be a long, hot summer but a major COVID-19 surge is sweeping through Britain and Europe, as omicron variants BA.4 and BA.5 reach a peak.
There were 4693 people in an English hospital being treated primarily for COVID on July 12, up from 2165 on June 21 – approaching the peak of previous waves. The number of inpatients with COVID-19, even if not as the primary issue, is well above 10,000. The European Union’s CDC this week recommended a second booster jab – a fourth shot – for anyone over 60.
“We need to keep an eye on that. We can’t predict how this virus changes, we can get broadsided by it quite easily.”