London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

Covid: Sharp rises in infection levels in England, says ONS

Covid: Sharp rises in infection levels in England, says ONS

Levels of coronavirus are continuing to rise with one in 85 people in England infected, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Figures for the week to 18 December estimate nearly 650,000 people have the virus, up from 570,000 the week before.

London now has the highest percentage of people testing positive - more than 2%.

In Wales, the virus is infecting one in 60 people - a sharp increase. Infection levels are also up in Northern Ireland.

In Scotland, the percentage of people testing positive has decreased, equating to one in 140 people there with the virus, the ONS suggests.

It comes as a total of 521,594 people have been vaccinated against coronavirus in England over the two weeks since roll-out started, with thousands more across the UK nations. People aged 80 and over received 70% of these doses.

In Scotland 56,676 people have received the vaccine, in Wales the figure is 22,595 and in Northern Ireland it is 16,068.

According to the ONS figures, there are sharp rises in levels of positive tests in the capital, the east of England, and the South East, where a new variant of the virus is spreading at a dangerous rate, according to government ministers.

About two-thirds of people testing positive in these areas could have the new variant - but this is only an estimate, the ONS says.

Meanwhile, case rates in London have doubled in one week, figures from Public Health England show, to 602 per 100,000 people.

Dr Yvonne Doyle, medical director at PHE, said: "This will not be a normal Christmas for any of us.

"By continuing to reduce your contacts you can help to slow the spread of Covid-19. Remember that about one in three people may never experience any symptoms so could infect others without realising it."



There are two variants causing concern at the moment - the first, which emerged in Kent, is thought to be driving a rapid growth in cases and hospital admissions in the south and east of England in recent weeks.

Scientists advising government are worried the rest of the UK could experience the same thing, as the number of patients in hospital with Covid approaches levels of the spring peak.

This has led to strict rules being imposed on six million more people in England from 26 December when 40% of the country will be living under tier 4 restrictions.

Scientists say the new variant spreads more easily than other forms of the virus although they don't believe it causes more serious disease.



The second variant, which originated in South Africa and is causing a spike in cases there, was detected in two cases in the UK on Tuesday, prompting a ban on travel from the country.

The R, or reproduction number of the virus, is now between 1.1 and 1.3 for the UK, with regions in the south and east of England even higher, signalling that the epidemic is growing fast.

The ONS figures are based on tests of people in thousands of households across the UK whether they have symptoms or not, giving an accurate estimate of how many people are infected with the virus.

Christmas mixing


Prof Kevin McConway, emeritus professor of applied statistics at The Open University, says the figure of one in 85 people with the virus in England is "worryingly high".

But there is some good news - infection rates in the north of England have been falling in recent weeks.

"I hope that the new virus variant and any extra mixing of people over Christmas does not reverse the positive trends in those parts of the country," Prof McConway says.

Daily UK government figures show there were 39,036 confirmed new cases on Thursday, slightly down from yesterday's record of 39,237. The total number of cases reported in the last week is nearly 50% higher than the week before.

On the same day, the deaths of another 574 people were reported within 28 days of a positive test for Covid-19.

It is almost inevitable that this figure will rise in the coming weeks as small numbers of those infected become seriously ill with the disease.

The latest figures show 21,286 people in hospital with Covid-19 as of Tuesday. The first wave peak was 21,683 people in hospital on 12 April.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
After 200,000 Orders in 2 Minutes: Xiaomi Accelerates Marketing in Europe
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
MSNBC Rebrands as MS NOW Amid Comcast’s Cable Spin-Off
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
Finnish MP Dies by Suicide in Parliament Building
Outrage in the Tennis World After Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal Storm
William and Kate Are Moving House – and the New Neighbors Were Evicted
Class Action Lawsuit Against Volkswagen: Steering Wheel Switches Cause Accidents
Taylor Swift on the Way to the Super Bowl? All the Clues Stirring Up Fans
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Apple Expands Social Media Presence in China With RedNote Account Ahead of iPhone 17 Launch
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Cambridge Dictionary Adds 'Skibidi,' 'Delulu,' and 'Tradwife' Amid Surge of Online Slang
Bill Barr Testifies No Evidence Implicated Trump in Epstein Case; DOJ Set to Release Records
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
The CEO Who Replaced 80% of Employees for the AI Revolution: "I Would Do It Again"
Emails Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Character.ai Bets on Future of AI Companionship
China Ramps Up Tax Crackdown on Overseas Investments
Japanese Office Furniture Maker Expands into Bomb Shelter Market
Intel Shares Surge on Possible U.S. Government Investment
Hurricane Erin Threatens U.S. East Coast with Dangerous Surf
EU Blocks Trade Statement Over Digital Rule Dispute
EU Sends Record Aid as Spain Battles Wildfires
JPMorgan Plans New Canary Wharf Tower
Zelenskyy and his allies say they will press Trump on security guarantees
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Escalating Clashes in Serbia as Anti-Government Protests Spread Nationwide
The Drought in Britain and the Strange Request from the Government to Delete Old Emails
Category 5 Hurricane in the Caribbean: 'Catastrophic Storm' with Winds of 255 km/h
"No, Thanks": The Mathematical Genius Who Turned Down 1.5 Billion Dollars from Zuckerberg
The surprising hero, the ugly incident, and the criticism despite victory: "Liverpool’s defense exposed in full"
Digital Humans Move Beyond Sci-Fi: From Virtual DJs to AI Customer Agents
YouTube will start using AI to guess your age. If it’s wrong, you’ll have to prove it
×