Picture supply, Getty ImagesImage caption, Face masks guidelines have been reintroduced at acute hospitals in WorcestershireArticle informationAuthor, Dr David Gregory KumarRole, BBC Midlands At the moment Science Correspondent4 July 2024Some hospitals have reintroduced masks sporting after a spike in sufferers being admitted with Covid-19, so ought to we be apprehensive the virus is making a comeback?Since Monday, sufferers, guests and workers are required to put on masks in medical areas on the Royal Stoke College Hospital and County Hospital in Stafford. In Worcestershire, the Acute Hospitals NHS Belief stated the measure was essential “to guard sufferers, their family members and hospital workers from danger of an infection” .They’re at present treating 65 sufferers with Covid-19, the very best quantity since December 2023. Sufferers are additionally in hospital for longer so that will point out they’re sicker too.In Staffordshire, there are 108 sufferers with the virus. At Royal Stoke Hospital two wards are at present full with Covid sufferers.However it’s troublesome to inform if that is some type of “summer season Covid wave” as a result of we’re doing rather a lot much less testing than we used to. Many of the testing nowadays is completed of hospital sufferers when they’re admitted and sure, we’re seeing a little bit of an uptick, certainly it is likely to be increased than the numbers counsel as not all new sufferers are examined.A part of lifeBut let’s put these new instances in context.With about 170 contaminated sufferers in the previous few weeks in Staffordshire and Worcestershire that may be a lot fewer than we noticed on the peak of the pandemic.On the finish of 2021 getting into to 2022, we noticed a peak in England of practically 300,000 new instances a day and there are not any indicators we’re even remotely near a return to these type of numbers.As for what’s driving this small rise in instances, properly Covid-19 as a virus is continually evolving and sure which means new variants. When you bear in mind it was the Omicron variant that drove that vast peak of 300,000 instances.At present, we’re seeing a descendent of that Omicron variant, JN1, dominating issues and in reality, there are even newer mutations of JN1, that we’re keeping track of collectively, known as FliRT. (Flirt is an acronym that is to do with the places of the mutations on the virus, in case you are questioning.)However, it’s too early to inform if FliRT variants are driving this small enhance in an infection.The reality is Covid-19 is now a part of life. We are going to all be contaminated and re-infected again and again. For many people, that’s not prone to be an issue, however these that may, ought to preserve getting boosted, and sure, in hospital masks sporting is one thing we would see extra of from time to time as an infection charges peak.Extra on this story