The absences of hospital staff due to Covid-19 have doubled in one month in England, facing record contaminations, increasing the pressure on the health system at a time when admissions are increasing.
Read alsoWill the “tsunami” of Covid-19 cases drive health systems to the brink of “collapse”?
According to figures released Friday by the National Health Service for England, NHS England, more than 24,000 staff absences in isolation because infected with the coronavirus or contact case were recorded on December 26, against less than 12,000 at the end of November.
This shortage of staff comes as the number of patients hospitalized with Covid-19 reached 11,898 on Wednesday, the highest level since the beginning of last March, an increase of 40% in one week.
2.3 million people infected last week
In a statement, NHS medical director Stephen Powis said the extent of the wave starting to hit hospital services remained unknown.
But "
after having reached a record in 10 months in terms of patients hospitalized with the Covid while being faced with a sharp increase in staff absences, we are doing everything possible to free up beds
", he conceded.
Read also Covid-19: ARS Île-de-France asks hospitals "the maximum" of possible deprogramming from Monday
The number of contaminations reached records in the United Kingdom.
According to the latest estimates from the National Bureau of Statistics (ONS) based on a sample of the population, 2.3 million people were infected last week.
In particular, this represents 1 in 25 people in England and 1 in 15 in London.
