‘1 in 20’ people in England had Covid in the last week

In England 2.7 million people had Covid-19 in the week to March 12

A woman wearing a face mask walking near the Houses of Parliament (PA)

One in 20 people in England are estimated to have had Covid-19 in the last week, as infections continued to increase in most countries in the UK, the latest statistics reveal.

In England, 2.7 million people had the virus in the week to March 12- up from one in 25, or 2.1 million people, in the week to March 5, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). In Wales, the estimate is up from 97,900 people, or one in 30, to 125,400 people, or one in 25.

Scotland has seen infection levels rise for seven weeks in a row and they have now reached a new record high, with 376,300 people estimated to have had Covid-19 last week, or one in 14. This is up from 299,900 people, or one in 18, the previous week.

The ONS described the trend in Northern Ireland as “uncertain”, with 130,600 people likely to have had Covid-19 last week, or around one in 14 people: down slightly from 143,800 people, or one in 13.

The latest information from the ONS comes just a day after new data from the ZOE Covid study suggested a 47 per cent week-on-week increase in new coronavirus cases.

Professor Tim Spector, lead scientist on the study, said: “COVID cases are now at the highest levels the ZOE COVID Study has ever recorded. Even more concerning is the rise in new cases in people aged over 75. This vulnerable group have had low case numbers for months.

“We will need to wait a few weeks to see the full impact on increased hospitalisation but numbers have already started to rise. The data shows this pandemic is definitely not over yet and is more unpredictable than ever, despite government messages to the contrary and a lack of public health advice.

“The ZOE COVID Study, with its 700,000 strong contributor base, remains the best tool the UK has in detecting and spotting new waves of infections. Although our funding from the UKHSA will stop in just a few weeks, ZOE will continue to track and monitor COVID-19 for the safety and security of the UK.”

Figures from ZOE say there are currently an average of 258,155 new symptomatic infections, an increase of 47% from the 175,189 reported last week.

The community monitoring study’s figures are based on reports from around 840,000 weekly contributors and the proportion of newly symptomatic users who have received positive Covid swab tests.

Additional reporting by PA