Covid infections are on the rise in many parts of the UK, the Office for National Statistics’ experts say.
A swab test conducted in the community found that 1.3% of the population or 1 out of 80 people was infected, with most cases having the more infectious Delta variant.
Meanwhile, Public Health England warns of an increased risk of catching this strain first identified in India, even if you have previously caught Covid-19.
The organization said that of the 68,688 delta infections recorded in 11 weeks from April to June, 897 cases were potential reinfections.
According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS):
• In the UK, 1 in 75 people are infected with the virus, compared to 1 in 95 in the previous week.
• In Scotland, it is 1 in 80, compared to 1 in 90 in the previous week.
• In Wales, it is 1 in 210, compared to 1 in 360 the week before.
• In Northern Ireland, it is 1 in 170, compared to 1 in 290 the week before.
“Infections continue to increase across the UK, with rates in England, Wales and Northern Ireland similar to those seen in February.” ONS Senior Statistician Kara Steel said.
“Continuing to monitor the infection rates is crucial going forward, particularly as we have not yet seen the impact of the easing of restrictions in our data. Therefore I would like to thank every single one of our participants for their continued contribution.” She added.
As infections are on the rise, it’s essential to carefully monitor the data to see how many people the vaccination program is protecting from disease and suffer from severe symptoms.
The latest estimate of the R rate, which measures the rate of the virus spread, remains the same from the week before at 1.2 to 1.4.
This means that, on average, ten people infected with the coronavirus infect 12 to 14 more. Thus the epidemic continues to grow.
However, the estimated one-day growth rate is showing signs of slowing. In this estimate, infections increase between 4% and 6% compared to the previous week at 4% to 7%.
This estimate represents a transmission that occurred 2 to 3 weeks ago due to the delay between people who became infected, developed symptoms and required health care.
