UK Covid cases rise by nearly 20% in a week

One in 25 people in England believed to have had the disease at the end of June

Covid cases have risen almost 20% in a week, with one in 25 people in England thought to have had the disease at the end of June, official figures suggest, as a leading statistician said hospitalisations from the latest surge may be topping off".

According to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics, based on swabs collected from randomly selected households, an estimated 2.71 million people in the UK had Covid in the week ending 29-30 June, an 18% rise on the week before, when almost 2.3 million people had the virus.