Covid GB, cases and hospitalizations on the rise: experts call for the return of masks

2023-08-16 12:56:56

The rise in Covid cases and hospitalizations in the United Kingdom is putting the country in a state of fibrillation for a possible new wave. The increase in infections is the consequence of the arrival of the EG.5 variant renamed ‘Eris’. According to the health authorities, one in seven Covid infections is attributable to ‘Eris’. So many scientists are also calling for the return of masks on social media as a measure to reduce infections in view of the autumn. Trisha Greenhalgh, a health policy expert at the University of Oxford and a member of the Independent Sage (Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies), writes on Twitter that “my various groups of scientists on WhatsApp are buzzing. Many colleagues feel that it is time to go back to wearing masks”, reports the ‘Daily Mail’.

For the increase in infections, experts have hypothesized the ‘mix’ between bad weather and the ‘Barbenheimer’ effect, or the release of blockbuster films such as ‘Barbie’ and ‘Oppenheimer’ at the cinema. To solicit the attention of infectious disease specialists in the United Kingdom is also a new variant that has not yet been officially characterized, but has been renamed by some BA.6. Covid variant hunters, very active on social media, said this new variant has been identified in Denmark and Israel and believe it has over 30 mutations in its ‘Spike’ protein, the part of the virus that attaches itself to human cells and causes an infection. A detail that could make it more dangerous.