Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have revealed that an estimated 2.7 million – or one in 25 – people in the UK have coronavirus, with one in 30 having had it in the last week.
The spike in infection has been blamed on quick-spreading subvariants of the Omicron variant called BA.4 and BA.5. However, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has pointed out that vaccinations are successfully protecting those infected from suffering a serious bout of the illness.
In this latest report from the ONS, the infection statistics are as follows:
- one in 25 in England – this was one in 30 the week before
- one in 20 in Wales – also up from one in 30
- one in 17 in Scotland – risen from one in 18
- one in 19 in Northern Ireland – up from one in 20
‘A continued rise’
The ONS obtains these numbers by testing thousands of people in the UK irrespective of whether they have coronavirus symptoms to create a picture of how much the virus continues to spread.
Speaking to the BBC, Sarah Crofts, who works on the ONS’s coronavirus infection surveys, said that they were seeing ‘a continued rise across all UK countries, English regions, and age groups.’
She continued; ‘Scotland continues to have the highest infection rate, although it has recently increased at a slower rate compared to other UK countries.
‘We will continue to monitor the data to see if this recent rise is starting to slow in Scotland.’
‘Waning immunity’
Also speaking to the BBC, the UKHSA’s Dr Mary Ramsay said that additional data suggests that around 16% of over-75s have not had spring booster vaccines.
Dr Ramsay warned that a ‘substantial amount of waning immunity’ could occur in older generations who did not have the booster vaccine ‘on schedule’ in spring 2022.
Furthermore, as of July 6, over 11,000 people in hospitals in England had tested positive for coronavirus. Whilst still well below the record high of over 34,000 in January 2021,
However, the number of Covid patients in hospital is currently still way below the record high of more than 34,000 in January 2021, during the wave of the Alpha variant of coronavirus.