By Covid levels continue to drop across the UK
According to new data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the number of people who currently have coronavirus in the UK is continuing to fall.
Data suggests roughly 3.76 million people were infected in the week ending 16 April – one in 17 people.
This is a fall of about 15% on the week before when the figure stood at 4.4 million, or around one in 15 people.
Other ONS data suggests more than 70% of people in England have had coronavirus since the pandemic began.
The latest study gives the clearest available picture of the virus’ spread since free testing ended for most people in England at the beginning of this month.
The data is compiled by testing thousands of people at random – whether they have symptoms or not – to estimate how much virus there is in the UK.
The study shows infections fell in all English regions apart from the North East, where the trend was uncertain and where infection rates remain the highest in England.
The Omicron BA.2 sub-variant continues to be responsible for most cases across the UK, though levels are falling.
Other UK data shows the number of people being admitted to hospital with Covid continues on a downward trend.
