As England storms to the Euros finals, a study says more men in the UK may be catching COVID-19 from watching the games
- Men were 30% more at risk than women to be infected with COVID-19, according to a UK study from June 24 to July 5.
- The Euros could mean "men having more social activity than usual," said one of the report's authors.
- The latest findings also showed that England is now experiencing "a substantial third wave of infections."
England's stellar run at this year's Euros may be driving up COVID-19 infections in men watching the games.
In a preprint study of 47,000 people in the UK between 24 June and 5 July, men were 30% more at risk than women to be infected, according to a Real-time Assessment of Community Transmission (REACT) study by Imperial College scientists.
"It could be that watching football is resulting in men having more social activity than usual," Steven Riley, one of the report's authors, said according to a BBC report.
The latest report also found a four-fold increase in the prevalence of COVID-19 from 0.19% in a previous study to 0.59%.
The latest findings indicate "England is now experiencing a substantial third wave of infections," wrote the authors of the report, adding that the majority of cases are now of the Delta variant.
There was also a substantial increase in COVID infections in all age groups under 75 - with the biggest spike in children between 13 and 17.
The study noted, however, that although COVID-19 cases have rocketed since the start of May, there have been fewer hospitalizations and deaths due to high vaccination rates.
On Thursday, the country reported more than 32,000 COVID-19 cases, the highest single-day report since January 20. Despite that, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he will carry on with plans to ease restrictions on July 19, saying the country has to "learn to live with this virus."
England is set to play against Italy at Wembley Stadium on Sunday. It's the first time the country is playing in the UEFA European Championship finals in the competition's history.