Expert urges public to wear masks on public transport amid Arcturus Covid fears
Britons should start wearing face masks again on public transport, experts have urged, as a super-contagious strain of Covid sweeps the country.
Arcturus now accounts for one in 40 new cases, raising fears it could soon become a dominant species and spark a new wave of disease.
Ministers have already been urged to offer booster vaccines to millions more Britons due to their spread.
Virologists have warned that Covid is still a threat, even though the virus is much milder and the UK is no longer under the severe restrictions of the pandemic.
Professor Stephen Griffin, chair of Independent SAGE, the panel of experts critical of Downing Street’s handling of the disease during the pandemic, said: ‘Obviously we are now in a much better position’.
Chart showing the number of Arcturus cases in UK regions, according to UK Health Security Agency data. This includes 96 cases in England, with the highest rates in London and the North West
A group of three is pictured wearing face masks in Greenwich, London, on April 27, 2023
Two shoppers at Borough Market, a popular eatery in Southwark London, wore masks yesterday
However, he told MailOnline that he would urge people to still test where possible or necessary.
Professor Griffin, from the University of Leeds, also called on employers and government to support people when they are unwell and need to self-isolate.
He encouraged adults to wear a well-fitting N95 mask or a high-quality mask in “poorly ventilated indoor areas or on public transport.”
“This may seem like a throwback to last year, but the reality is that the virus continues to wreak havoc and those least able to cope continue to suffer,” added Professor Griffin.
“In the absence of measures at the population level… the focus remains on the individual risk, which is now much lower for many.
‘However, the situation remains dynamic with declining immunity and high rates of viral evolution.
“If the government does not act to enable everyone to ‘live’ with Covid, vulnerable people will continue to need precautions and, ideally, others will act with an appropriate level of altruism.”
Some hospitals and NHS facilities still ask patients to cover up before entering, although this is no longer required by law.
Two elderly people in masks on the London Underground yesterday
Surveillance data shows Arcturus, scientifically named XBB.1.16, accounts for around 2.3 per cent of all new cases in the UK
Other Omicron sub-variants include Kraken (XBB.1.5) and Orthrus (CH.1.1). Kraken remains the dominant strain in the UK as of April 14, causing 44 percent of cases, while Omicron accounts for 8 percent and Arcturus 2.3 percent, the UKHSA said.
Unofficial figures, compiled by health tech company ZOE, suggest around 70,000 Britons are infected every day, with cases in free fall for weeks. This level is only a fraction of what was seen during previous waves
India is now recording nearly 10,000 Covid cases every day. This is more than the 160 at the end of February, when the variant started to gain momentum. Data suggests that it accounts for two-thirds of all cases in the country. Data is based on confirmed cases only
Professor Martin McKee, a public health specialist at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said: ‘Covid is still with us and remains a threat to health.’
Surveillance data shows that Arcturus, or XBB.1.16, accounts for about 2.3 percent of all new cases.
The stock has tripled since early April.
Only one region, the Northeast, has yet to see it, according to a report from the UK Health Security Agency.
Top experts insist there is no evidence that the strain is more serious than others circulating, and that it has morphed into a milder illness like the flu.
But XBB.1.16 – a substrain of Omicron – does have three extra mutations on its spike protein, allowing it to evade the body’s natural defenses.
It is believed to have evolved into the most contagious variant to date.
Some experts suspected it could spark a resurgence of Covid, similar to what happened in India, where it was first detected.
Unofficial figures suggest around 70,000 Britons become infected every day, with cases in free fall for weeks. This level is only a fraction of what was seen during previous waves.
India is now recording nearly 10,000 Covid cases every day. This is more than the 160 at the end of February, when the variant started to gain momentum.
Data suggests that it accounts for two-thirds of all cases in the country.
Some of the hardest-hit states have already brought back mandatory masks to stem its rapid spread.
Despite warnings of Arcturus-induced chaos, other experts insist there is no need to panic.
Britain’s previous Covid inoculation campaign – and repeated waves – does has drastically mitigated the threat of the virus and its spread.
It has enabled the country to move on with life after the pandemic, with draconian restrictions in its wake.
Professor Robert Dingwall, who advised ministers on the virus during the pandemic, also told MailOnline today: ‘We should stop jumping on every new strain of Covid that comes along unless there is solid evidence that we have poor resistance to it.’
He added: ‘We have to treat Covid like any other flu-like illness. The flu virus also changes quite regularly, but it’s not front-page news.
The chart shows one million Covid boosters administered in the first three weeks of the NHS Spring booster campaign, compared to 1.37 million in the same period last year and 2.8 million in the autumn rollout
NHS England officially launched its spring booster campaign (shown in image) on April 3, opening the latest round of jabs for over-75s, care home residents and over-5s with health conditions that make them more vulnerable
Professor Stephen Griffin, chair of Independent SAGE, a panel of experts who have criticized No10’s handling of the disease, said: ‘We are clearly in a much better position now’
“Public health authorities are monitoring the changes so vaccines can be adapted. Covid now requires no other response.”
Arcturus was first identified in January and has been monitored by the World Health Organization (WHO) since late March.
It has now been recorded in 34 countries, including the US, Singapore, Australia and Canada.
Officials are no longer tracking the prevalence of the virus in the same way they used to, as part of the government ushering in pre-pandemic normalities.
Variation tracking capabilities have also been scaled back.
It comes after MailOnline revealed yesterday that Britain’s current Covid booster drive is the country’s slowest yet.
Only one million doses were administered in the first three weeks of the campaign, which started on April 3.
This is much less than the uptake during last spring’s upgrade program, when nearly 1.4 million shots were administered during the same period.
Leading experts today claimed the “disappointing” pace could be due to vaccine fatigue. Others hinted that the success of the Covid vaccines themselves could be to blame, with Britons now underestimating the threat of the virus thanks to society’s wall of immunity.