One in 25 individuals in England had Covid final week

One in 25 individuals in England had Covid final week, rising to at least one in 15 in London, official figures have revealed.

According to figures from the Office for National Statistics, primarily based on swabs collected from randomly chosen households, an estimated 4% of individuals locally in England had Covid within the week ending 23 December – about 2,024,700 individuals. The week earlier than about 1 in 35 people in England were estimated to have had Covid.

The examine revealed infections have elevated throughout all areas of the UK because the Omicron variant continues to gasoline report numbers.

“The best charges of infections have been seen in London, the place one in 15 would have examined constructive, and the bottom within the north-east of England, the place one in 45 would have examined constructive for Covid-19,” the report notes.

An infection ranges additionally rose in Scotland, Wales and Northern Eire in the latest week, with the most recent estimates suggesting that for all three international locations about one in 40 individuals had Covid within the week ending the 23 December.

The examine additionally reveals that Omicron is now the dominant variant in England and Scotland.

“An infection ranges have continued to extend throughout the UK, with England’s improve pushed largely by London, which has the best fee of an infection seen on this survey,” stated Sarah Crofts, head of analytical outputs for the Covid-19 An infection Survey.

“Omicron is now the dominant variant in each England and Scotland, and has been rising quickly in Northern Eire and Wales,” she added. “We’ve additionally seen infections rise in all age teams, with school-aged youngsters and younger adults seeing the best charges.”