In England, an estimated 3,147,700 people had coronavirus in the week to July 14, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). There were 340,900 cases in Scotland, 183,200 in Wales and 88,400 in Northern Ireland over the same period. Last week, the estimated number of people who tested positive for the virus was 3,498,700. This means 261,500 more infections have been estimated compared to last week – a 7% increase. But last week’s increase was 29% – suggesting the infection rate could be slowing. The nearly 3.8 million is the highest weekly estimate for total infections since mid-April, but still below the record 4.9 million set in late March. The highest rates were in people aged 16 to 24 and 50-69, and the lowest in children aged six to 11. While rates have risen in most areas of the UK, some are falling or starting to fall. However, it seems too early to tell whether these declines will be sustained. The majority of infections at present are the BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron variants, accounting for 89.2% of infections in the week ending July 3. Revealed: The most common signs you have a COVID infection The ONS said that in England, the latest statistics showed higher levels of infection than during the peak of the Alpha variant in January 2021. At that time, however, “hospital admissions were 2 times higher and deaths were 14 times higher,” he added. “Infections have, overall, continued to rise in England, reaching similar levels to those seen in April during wave BA.2,” said Kara Steel, ONS senior statistician for COVID-19 infection research . “However, we see some uncertain trends in the latest data in other countries of the UK, in some English regions and in some age groups. “It’s too early to tell if this latest wave is starting to peak, but we’ll continue to monitor the data closely.” Subscribe to the Daily on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Spreaker Paul Hunter, professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia, said it was important to remember that ONS data is “always about two to three weeks behind the epidemic curve, in terms of new infections (incidence)”. He added: “Other sources – the Department of Health dashboard and Zoe app data – have suggested that for England the number of new infections peaked around 8/9/10 July and is now falling. “The suggestion that new infections are indeed falling now is further supported by the fact that new hospital admissions are also now falling, although I suspect the next two days’ data may be confounded by increased hospitalizations due to the heat.”
