• Covid infections are driven by highly transmissible variants of the Omicron virus.
• An estimated 2,154,000 people in England tested positive for drugs last week.
•  In Wales, about one in 20 people had the virus, up from one in 30 the previous week.

Covid infections have continued to rise across the UK, driven by highly transmissible variants of the Omicron virus, according to a survey by the Office for National Statistics.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that during the week ending June 29, an estimated 2,154,000 people in England tested positive for drugs, representing approximately one in twenty-five people, an increase from one in thirty the previous week.

In Wales, about one in 20 people had the virus, up from one in 30 the previous week.

In Northern Ireland, one in 19 persons tested positive, compared to one in 25 earlier, and in Scotland, one in 17 people were infected, compared to one in 18 previously.

The data are based on confirmed positive test results from people living in private residences, excluding, for example, those residing in nursing homes or hospitals.

The ONS’s Covid-19 Infection Survey is regarded as one of the most credible global sources of information on the spread of the virus, as the majority of people who contract the virus no longer bother to submit their test results, casting doubt on the accuracy of other published numbers.

Sarah Crofts, the survey’s director of analytical outputs, stated, “We continue to observe a rise in infections across all UK countries, English areas, and age categories.”

These increases were attributable to an increase in infections with Omicron subtype variations BA.4 and BA.5.

Crofts added: “Scotland continues to have the highest infection rate in the United Kingdom, although it has been increasing at a slower rate than other nations. We will continue to examine the data to determine if this recent increase in Scotland is beginning to level out.”