Covid cases and hospital admissions rising in England, data suggests

Increase in infections to estimated one in 25 people follows similar trend in Scotland

One in 25 people in England had Covid last week, figures show, causing a rise in the rates of hospital admissions.

The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics, based on swabs from randomly selected households, reveal an estimated 2,073,900 people in the community in England had Covid in the week ending 5 March, equating to 3.8% of the population or about one in 25 people. The week before, the figure was about one in 30.