UK Covid infections soar by almost 30% in a week

Estimated 3.5 million people thought to have disease in first week of July, with Omicron sub-variants blamed

Covid infection levels in the UK have risen by almost 30% in a week, with an estimated 3.5 million people thought to have had the disease in the first week of July.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics based on swabs collected from randomly selected households, show that in the week ending 6 July, 2,873,600 people in the community in England are estimated to have had Covid - about one in 19 people. The week before, the figure was 2,154,000 people, or about one in 25.