The challenge of covid 19 has proved relentless over time, forcing nations to create strategies to cope with the ever-mutating virus. The economy of many countries, including the UK, got into an unprecedented shock at the beginning of the pandemic. Businesses were shut down, and a lot of people lost their jobs. Other than that, many people lost their loved ones in a short span of time. It was tragic!
Even though the world has not yet recovered from the aftermath of the pandemic, the situation in many countries has improved, with many people reporting back to their workplaces and learners resuming their studies. That said, there were interventions that made it easier for countries to ease covid 19 restrictions. One of these interventions included the introduction of self-test kits. Today, individuals can order lateral flow tests anytime and test themselves. Self-testing has been effective in controlling the spread of the virus. In this article, we take a comparative look at the statistics of COVID-19 in 2022 and 2023.
Let’s delve in.
COVID 19 Statistics in 2022
As the entire world continued navigating through the challenges caused by covid 19, the year 2022 emerged one of the most critical years in the ongoing war against coronavirus. Below are statistics that were instrumental in shaping the narrative of 2022.
Confirmed COVID 19 Cases
Throughout the year, the UK witnessed variations in the total number of people confirmed to have been COVID-19-positive. These numbers were from individuals who tested themselves and reported their results and those who got tested in healthcare facilities. Looking at the weekly updates, the word health organization states that on the 3rd of January 2022, the total number of new infections recorded was 1,320,332, which was a 2.19 percent increase from the previous recording. It means that since the 27th of Dec 2021, the UK witnessed 28261 more covid 19 cases (in a span of 1 week).
In the subsequent week, i.e., the 10th of January 2022, the total number of confirmed cases was 723,565. That was a 45.2% decrease from the total number of cases reported in the previous week. So, in essence, the United Kingdom witnessed a weekly decline of -596,767 cases in that week.
Confirmed Deaths
According to the World Health Organization, the UK recorded a total of 1648 individuals who had succumbed to covid 19 infection. That was a 21.18% increase, given that there were 288 more deaths compared to what was recorded in the previous week. When it comes to deaths, the same trajectory was evident whereby in some weeks, there would be an increase in the total number of deaths reported, and in other weeks, there would be a decrease.
As mentioned earlier, you can tell that the numbers kept fluctuating. Some of the factors influencing the dynamics of COVID-19 cases and deaths include:
- Global and domestic travel
- Public compliance behavior
- Emergence of variants
- Effectiveness of public health measures
- Vaccination coverage
- Testing and surveillance practices
- The capacity of the healthcare system
- Government policies and interventions
COVID 19 Statistics in 2023
Still navigating the ongoing challenge, 2023 has been the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic. This year has seen the world advance further in combating the virus. Like all other countries, the UK has relentlessly worked to mitigate and manage the impact of covid 19. From ensuring that a majority of the people have had several vaccines to making self-test kits available for individuals to test themselves for covid 19, the UK has put effective measures in place to control the spread of the killer virus. Let’s see what has been happening during this year.
Confirmed COVID 19 Cases
The report done by WHO on the 2nd of January 2023 happened to be the first one during that year. In the weekly report, there were a total of 33,390 new cases. That was a decrease from the previous report done on the 26th of December 2022. In essence, the total number of new cases had reduced to 8,254.
On 6th February 2023, there was another report that showed an increase in the number of new covid 19 cases. The WHO reported 23,225 new cases that were reported that week. That was an increase of about 2035 new individuals who had tested positive.
Confirmed 19 Deaths
The UK recorded 950 deaths on 2nd January, according to WHO. During that week, there was a notable decline of 20 cases where people succumbed to the virus. That was a 2.06% decrease. The number of deaths has been fluctuating throughout the year. However, regardless of the fluctuations, there has been a decline in the total number of deaths reported throughout 2023. On the 2nd of October, only 339 people were reported dead during that week.
That means there is a huge decline when it comes to the rate at which individuals are dying due to covid 19 compared to what happened in 2022. Similarly, the number of new infections has been lower than the UK witnessed in 2022. It is evident that individuals have adhered to safety precautions. Many people are still getting their subsequent vaccines and have embraced the use of lateral flow test kits.
