UK Covid cases rise to nearly 3.8 million

The number of people testing positive for coronavirus has risen to nearly 3.8 million, the latest data shows.

Covid infections increased in the week to 14 July by 7 per cent from 3.5 million in the week prior, according to the Office for National Statistics.

This is the highest estimate for total infections since mid-April, but is still below the record of 4.9 million reached at the end of March.

Coronavirus remains most prevalent in Scotland, where 340,900 people were estimated to have had the virus in the week to July 14, or around one in 15.

This is up slightly from 334,000, or one in 16, and is the highest estimate for Scotland since the start of April - although the ONS describes the trend here as “uncertain”.

In England, 3.1 million people were likely to have had the virus in the week to July 13, the equivalent of around one in 17. This is up from 2.9 million, or one in 19, a week earlier.

Wales has seen infections level off at 183,200, broadly unchanged on 183,500 in the previous week, while in Northern Ireland infections have dropped to 88,400 people from 107,60.

According to the ONS, there has been a large increase in reinfections during this current Omicron wave. Analysis showed in England infection levels were higher than during the first Covid wave, however, hospital admissions during that “Alpha” wave were twice as high and deaths 14 times higher.

Professor Paul Hunter, professor in Medicine at UEA, said: “It is worth restating that the ONS infection survey primarily publishes prevalence of Covid (ie proportion of the population of people testing positive), and a week or more later than the samples were taken on which the results are based. Because people can remain positive for about 11 days after first becoming positive for Covid, the ONS data is always about 2 to 3 weeks behind the epidemic curve, as far as new infections (incidence) are concerned.

“Other sources (DHSC dashboard and Zoe app data) have suggested that for England the number of new infections peaked around 8-10 July and are now in decline. The suggestion that new infections are indeed now falling is further supported by the fact that new hospital admissions are also now falling, though I suspect that the next couple of days’ data may be confused by increased hospitalisations because of the heatwave.”

The Covid Actuaries Response Group said average weekly admissions in England were down 8 per cent week on week. The group’s analysis of Covid deaths data shows deaths are rising but likely to peak soon.