According to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), UK COVID-19 infections are continuing to drop.
Around 2.6 million people reported that they had the virus in the week to 26 July, while the previous week had recorded 3.2 million cases. The number of those in hospital with COVID-19 has also seen a significant decrease.
Despite the considerable fall in infections, experts are still cautioning against complacency, warning that COVID-19 cases are still prevalent, with one in 25 people in England currently having the virus. However, vaccines are still helping protect people from severe illness.
The COVID-19 infection rates from the ONS come from data collated by testing thousands of people from UK households – regardless of whether they have symptoms or not – in order to gauge how much of the virus is circulating.
The estimated number of people testing positive for COVID-19 in Wales was 108,800, equal to 3.58% of the population, or around 1 in 30 people, while in Scotland, the estimated number of people testing positive for COVID-19 was 260,800, equating to 4.95% of the population, or around 1 in 20 people.
In Northern Ireland, the estimated number of those testing positive for the virus was 109,800, which is 5.98% of the population, or approximately 1 in 17 people.
Dr Rhiannon Yapp, co-lead for the ONS survey commented on the findings: “Our most recent data suggests that infection rates have continued to decrease across much of the UK, although rates still remain high.”
Yapp confirmed that according to the data, there have been “continued decreases in all regions and age groups in England” and added that, given the time of year with summer holidays and more people travelling, the ONS “will continue to closely monitor the data”.
Fast-spreading sub-variants of Omicron, BA.4 and BA.5, have accounted for many of the most recent cases. Although people are susceptible to infection, even if they have had the virus before, vaccines have been shown to help protect people from becoming severely ill.
The government announced in July 2022 that everyone aged 50 and over living in the UK will be eligible for another COVID-19 booster vaccine this autumn.