(Bloomberg) -- UK hospital admissions linked to Covid are climbing again as omicron subvariants cause new outbreaks across the country.

England’s hospital admission rate for the week through June 26 stood at 11.11 per 100,000 people, jumping nearly 40% from 7.98 in the previous week, according to the UK Health Security Agency, with intensive-care cases spreading among older age groups. 

“We continue to see an increase in Covid-19 data, with a rise in case rates and hospitalizations in those aged 65 years and over, and outbreaks in care homes,” said Mary Ramsay, director of clinical programs at the agency.

Although deaths and hospitalizations are still well behind levels during earlier Covid waves, the latest data suggest that a recent upturn in infections could lead to more pressure on health systems and disruption to businesses.

In the UK, two omicron subvariants -- BA.4 and BA.5 -- have now become dominant, making up more than half of new Covid cases in England, a government report last week found. The UK government earlier said the rise in cases hadn’t translated to an increase in serious sickness and deaths because of vaccines. 

The rise in prevalence of BA.4 and BA.5 has led to a surge in hospitalizations and ICU admissions in some nations, the World Health Organization said in a report last week. Still, there’s currently no evidence that they cause more severe illness than previous variants, health officials said.

The government has been urging elderly people, as well as those living in care homes or who are clinically vulnerable, to get their spring booster for protection against serious illness.

UK vaccine advisers last month recommended a new round of Covid boosters for elderly and vulnerable people in the fall, saying the threat could mount again as winter approaches. The new campaign would follow spring boosters for a more limited population.

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