The risk of meeting a Covid-infected person in your everyday life remains Extremely High. The next wave of Covid continues to build, with around 1 in every 44 people in England now infected with Covid. (This is also the rate and risk for Bucks). The number of hospital patients infected with Covid, both in Bucks and nationally, also continues to rise very sharply.
As an example of the risk of catching Covid, a typical busy supermarket will have between 5 and 10 infected people breathing out virus which you could catch.
It is likely that this continuing rise in Covid-infected people is being driven by a new variant, BA.2.86, and by waning immunity to by existing variants.
Hospitals and GP practices remain extremely dangerous places to catch Covid. NHS staff are now required to work even if they have Covid and there are no Covid precautions in place at most NHS buildings. Do avoid hospitals and GP practices unless your visit is essential and wear a tight-fitted filter mask (FFP2 or FFP3) all the time if you have to go there.
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