It means Covid is more widespread now than it has been since the last week of January, when there were estimated to be about 850,000 cases. The ONS report shows that secondary school-aged children and adults under 24 were 14 times more likely to have caught Covid last week than over-70s, and six times more likely than over-50s. While cases are continuing to rise across England, the 28 per cent increase in the past week marks a slow down on the previous week, when the epidemic grew by 74 per cent. For Wales, the latest estimate is one in 210 people, up from one in 360 in the previous week and the highest level since the week to February 19. Latest data shows there were 788 Covid hospital admissions on July 18, a rise of 35 per cent on the previous week.

Source: The Nation July 23, 2021 12:00 UTC