Over Christmas and New Year the UK witnessed a surge in Covid cases. The festive period is the perfect time for viral infections to spread due to cold weather and the fact people are spending more time together inside.
Experts also believe the increase was linked to the arrival of a new Covid strain – JN.1. Also known as “Juno”, this Omicron descendant was declared a “subvariant of interest” by the World Health Organisation (WHO) because of how contagious it is.
The variant was thought to account for around half of all Covid cases in the UK in December, with this rising to around 70 percent in January. Although Juno is thought to be “more transmissible” than other strains there is no evidence to suggest it will cause a more severe infection.
Despite this, the number of new Covid cases has actually decreased in England. According to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), there were a total of 5,336 new cases in the seven days to January 10.
That’s down from 7,527 cases in the previous seven days, a fall of more than 29 percent. Numbers peaked last week on January 4 when there were 1,048 new cases recorded.
This means in the week up to January 10 there were 9.44 cases of COVID-19 for every 100,000 people.
That’s down from 15.16 cases the same time a week earlier. In the same period last year there were 36.95 Covid cases per 100,000 people.
However, the situation varies in each local authority. You can see the situation where you live by using our interactive map.
Either scroll to find your area or enter your postcode in the search box.
Cornwall and Isles of Scilly reported more Covid cases in the last week than any other local authority in the country relative to population.
There were 25.31 new Covid cases reported for every 100,000 people living in the area in the seven days to January 10.
However, that’s down from 29.77 per 100,000 at the same point a week earlier.
Elmbridge in Surrey had the next highest rate with 23.66 cases for every 100,000 residents.
That’s followed by Castle Point in Essex with 22.67 per 100,000, North East Lincolnshire with 22.48, Mendip in Somerset with 21.25, and Crawley with 21.02.
Crawley had the largest surge of any local authority in the country.
Cases there have gone from 3.50 per 100.000 last week to 21.02 on January 10.
According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), symptoms of Juno are likely to be “similar” to those caused by other strains.
These could include:
- Fever or chills
- Cough
- Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
- Fatigue
- Muscle or body aches
- Headache
- New loss of taste or smell
- Sore throat
- Congestion or runny nose
- Nausea or vomiting
- Diarrhoea.
Many people recover from Covid within four weeks, but if symptoms linger for longer it is worth speaking to a GP.
While there is currently no self-isolation mandate in the UK, the NHS still recommends staying home and avoiding contact with others for five days if you test positive for Covid.
You should avoid contact with vulnerable people for 10 days.
