Articles in Covid-19

1 in 44 people in England now infected. 7 infected people in a busy supermarket. Risk of meeting someone with Covid rises, and remains Extremely High.

Covid-19 Risk Assessment: Week Ending 28 August 2023

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.

Read More

Covid-19 Risk Assessment: Week Ending 21 August 2023

We’ve raised the risk of meeting a Covid-infected person in your everyday life to Extremely High. The next wave of Covid continues to build, with around 1 in every 50 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 8 infected people breathing out virus which you could catch.

Because of the limited number of virus tests being done, we don’t know whether this continuing rise in Covid-infected people is being driven by the new variant, BA.2.86 or by existing variants, or both.

Hospitals and GP practices remain the most 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.

Read More
1 in 53 people in England now infected. 6 infected people in a busy supermarket. Risk of meeting someone with Covid rising, remaining Very High.

Covid-19 Risk Assessment: Week Ending 14 August 2023

The risk of meeting a Covid-infected person in your everyday life continues to rise. With around 1 in every 53 people in England now infected with Covid, the risk remains Very High. (This is also the rate and risk for Bucks). There also has been a sharp increase in the number of hospital patients infected with Covid.

As an example of the risk of catching Covid, a typical busy supermarket will have between 4 and 8 infected people breathing out virus which you could catch.

Hospitals and GP practices remain the most 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.

Read More
1 in 57 people in England now infected. 5 infected people in a busy supermarket. Risk of meeting someone with Covid rising, remaining Very High.

Covid-19 Risk Assessment: Week Ending 7 August 2023

The risk of meeting a Covid-infected person in your everyday life is continuing to increase. With around 1 in every 57 people in England infected with Covid, the risk remains Very High. (This is also the rate and risk for Bucks).

As an example of the risk of catching Covid, a typical busy supermarket will have between 4 and 7 infected people breathing out virus which you could catch.

This increase in Covid infections marks the end of the “summer lull”. Risk levels have now returned to the level seen in the spring of this year. It is likely that Covid infections will now continue to increase over the rest of the summer and into the autumn. While it is too early to tell, we may be about to see a rapid increase caused by the spread of a new variant, EG.5.1, to which most people will not have immunity.

Read More
1 in 60 people in England now infected. 5 infected people in a busy supermarket. Risk of meeting someone with Covid remains Very High.

Covid-19 Risk Assessment: Week Ending 24 July 2023

The risk of meeting a Covid-infected person in your everyday life this week is again higher than it was last week, and remains Very High. Around 1 in every 60 people in England have Covid – this is also the rate for Bucks.

As an example of the risk of catching Covid, a typical busy supermarket will have between 4 and 7 infected people breathing out virus which you could catch.

This increase in Covid infections may mean the end of the “summer lull”, or it may just be a temporary uptick and rates will go down again. We do not have enough data to tell at this stage. However, it is probably most likely that Covid infections will now continue to increase over the rest of the summer and into the autumn. We will keep you updated weekly, as we have done for the last 3 years.

BuDS continues to recommend that disabled and clinically vulnerable people avoid indoor spaces unless they are wearing a filter mask (FFP2/3). For more advice on how to avoid catching Covid, use this link.

This data is based on the Zoe Health Study for Covid-19, adjusted to take account of its limited coverage. To learn more about this, use this link.

To understand more about our Covid risk levels and what they mean, use this link.

For more Covid information and help, please contact BuDS and we will be happy to help.

1 in 71 people in England now infected. 4 infected people in a busy supermarket. Risk of meeting someone with Covid remains Very High.

Covid-19 Risk Assessment: Week Ending 17 July 2023

The risk of meeting a Covid-infected person in your everyday life this week is slightly higher than it was last week, and remains Very High. Around 1 in every 71 people in England have Covid – this is also the rate for Bucks.

As an example of the risk of catching Covid, a typical busy supermarket will have between 3 and 6 infected people breathing out virus which you could catch.

Bucks and England appear to be still in a “summer lull”, similar to 2022. We have not yet found any firm evidence of a major increase in infection rates.

There are two main reasons for this lull. Most of the population have now already caught a variant of Covid in the last few months, and a new variant has not yet come along. This means that the temporary immunity that you get from catching Covid is protecting most people from a fresh infection. That will change, of course, when the next new variant arrives which can avoid the temporary immunity given by past variants.

Read More
1 in 76 people in Bucks now infected. 4 infected people in a busy supermarket. Risk of meeting someone with Covid remains Very High.

Covid-19 Risk Assessment: Week Ending 10 July 2023

The risk of meeting a Covid-infected person in your everyday life this week is slightly lower than it was last week, but remains Very High. Around 1 in every 76 people in Bucks have Covid – this is also the rate for England as a whole.

As an example of the risk of catching Covid, a typical busy supermarket will have between 3 and 6 infected people breathing out virus which you could catch.

Bucks and England appear to be in a “summer lull”, similar to 2022. Recent peaks (March and May) have boosted temporary immunity, and the hot weather is reducing indoor contact. However, Covid is still widespread in the population, and we are already seeing signs that the recent fall in infections is coming to an end. We are still confidently predicting that rates will again increase as we move into the late summer and autumn.

Read More

Fair4All Event Organiser (£12.50/hr For 95 Hours)

Could you help the BuDS Events team remove the barriers excluding disabled people from attending public events? This role will involve helping BuDS organise support at Towersey Festival in August and 3 winter events at the Chiltern Open Air Museum (COAM), plus additional events that may be organised in 2023.

The role will involve liaising with event organisers and within BuDS to plan and arrange BuDS’ presence at events, and the support we will be providing. It will also involve practical work around event equipment, helping prepare branding and promotional material, and attending all events to ensure smooth operation during events. This role is primarily remote/home-based, but will require regular travel to the BuDS event store in Aston Clinton, Aylesbury and to events. It is for 95 hours total averaging 4 hours per week, at up to £12.50 per hour. It covers the period from 17 July to 31 December 2023.

Disabled people are particularly welcome to apply. BuDS is committed to removing barriers to employment. Please let us know how we could make it possible for you to do this job. BuDS works remotely and flexibly using MS Teams.


If you would like the job description in another format, please contact us.

To apply or express an interest, please send your CV to jobs@buds.org.uk. To arrange an informal chat about the role, please e-mail jannekee@buds.org.uk.