‘One in seven’ young children in north-west England had Covid-19 in late January
Infections have surged among younger age groups since the start of the year.
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.One in seven young children in north-west England is likely to have had Covid-19 during the second half of January – the highest level of infection for any age group in England since the current wave began.
Yorkshire and the Humber the West Midlands and eastern England also saw figures close to one in seven, according to new estimates from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Other regions were nearer one in eight, while south-west England was one in nine.
The figures reflect the surge in infections among younger age groups in recent weeks – in particular the sharp jump in the prevalence of the virus following the return of pupils to school after the Christmas holiday.
An estimated 14.0% of two to 11-year-olds in north-west England are likely to have tested positive for Covid-19 between January 16 and 29, up from 7.6% in the previous fortnight and 6.2% in the two weeks to January 1.
No other age group across all the regions of England has recorded such a high positivity rate in the past few months.
In Yorkshire and the Humber, the estimate for January 16-29 is 13.7%, up from 9.6% in the previous fortnight, while the West Midlands is 13.5%, up from 9.5%.
Other regions ranged from 13.4% in eastern England to 11.2% in south-west England.
Across England as a whole, 12.9% – around one in eight – of two to 11-year-olds were likely to have had Covid-19 in the second half of last month.
This is the highest level for any age group in England since the ONS began its series of fortnightly estimates in May 2020.
The ONS infection survey is the most reliable snapshot of the prevalence of coronavirus in the UK.
It is based on a representative sample of swab tests collected from tens of thousands of households, and is therefore able to estimate the percentage of people likely to test positive for Covid-19 at any one point in time – regardless of when they caught the virus, if they have had it before and whether they have symptoms.
By contrast, the number of cases of Covid-19 announced each day by the Government is limited only to those people who have reported themselves as testing positive for the virus, and is affected by how many people are coming forward for tests or who are taking a test because they know they have coronavirus symptoms.
Prevalence of Covid-19 among 12 to 16-year-olds in England was 7.3% in the period of January 16 to 29, up from 5.6% in the previous two weeks and the highest positivity rate for this age group since fortnightly estimates began, the ONS said.
All other age groups showed a fall in the latest figures, including 17 to 24-year-olds (down from 7.9% to 3.7%) and people aged 25 to 34 (from 7.5% to 4.8%).