Coronavirus: One in 15 people tested show signs of infection

Analysis by Office for National Statistics warns there are around 54,000 new infections each week

Around one in 15 people whose blood was tested for a nationwide coronavirus surveillance study was found to be positive for having had the disease.

The Office for National Statistics latest data from its study looking at the spread of Covid-19 in England found just over 6 per cent of 885 people whose blood was tested between 26 April and 24 May had antibodies for the virus.

This suggests they have previously had the virus and recovered and if replicated to the wider population would equate to 4 million people.

The ONS said that any time in the two weeks between 11 May and 24 May as many as 133,000 people in England were infected with coronavirus – the equivalent of 0.24 per cent of the population, based on tests carried out on more than 18,900 people.

The ONS said the results were “a similar level to the previous estimate indicating that the number of people with Covid-19 is relatively stable.”

Its latest data comes as the government launched its new NHS test and trace system as lockdown restrictions begin to be eased across the country.

The ONS estimated there were 54,000 new Covid-19 infections per week in England, an incidence rate per week of 0.10 new cases for every 100 people.

It said there was no evidence of differences between men and women testing positive for the virus.

But those people who worked in frontline health and care roles such as doctors, nurses and care assistants had a much higher chance of testing positive with 1.73 per cent compared to 0.38 per cent for those not working in those jobs.

The data is based on community spread of the virus and does not look at the spread of the virus within hospitals or care homes.

The study is designed to track how the virus is spreading among the general population and is being carried out by the ONS in partnership with the University of Oxford, the University of Manchester and Public Health England.