Covid: Infection rate holds steady in Sheffield while climbing across country

Some 3.2 per cent of tests were positive in the week ending June 29, the same as the week before, the Office for National statistics found

A total of 2.7 million people are estimated to have had the virus last week up 18 per cent from 2.3 million cases in the previous week, marking the highest estimate for total infections since late April.

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However, infection levels are still below the record high of 4.9 million at the end of March. Separate NHS data shows hospitalisations also continue to climb.

Coronavirus infection rates continue to grow across all regions of the UK, driven by Omicron subvarants BA.4 and BA.5.

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The highest rates were in Scotland at one in 17, one in 19 in Northern Ireland, one in 20 in Wales and one in 25 in England.

In Yorkshire and the Humber the rate went up from 3 per cent to 3.6 per cent.

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Dr Mary Ramsay, director of clinical programmes at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), said: “We continue to see COVID-19 case rates and hospitalisations rise in all age groups, with the largest increases in hospitalisations and ICU admissions in those aged 75 and older.

“There is likely to be a substantial amount of waning immunity in older people who have not taken up the booster on schedule, so we can expect these rises to continue over the coming weeks and throughout July.”

The figures are based on regular, large-scale testing of a sample of private households.

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