Covid-19 infection rates continue to fall

Wales has seen Covid infection rates drop for the third week in a row, with one in 25 people estimated to have the virus in the week ending 30 April.

According to the latest study published by the Office for National Statistics, 131,600 people in Wales had Covid-19, equating to 4.33% of the population.

The ONS calculated 172,300 people had Covid in Wales the previous week, 5.67% of the population or around 1 in 18 people.

Overall, the ONS estimated two million people in private households in the UK had the virus in the week to April 30, or May 1 in Scotland, down 32% from 2.9 million the previous week.

It is the biggest week-on-week drop since figures for all four nations were first reported at the beginning of November 2020.

Around 1,586,900 people, one in 35 people in England were infected, down from one in 25, representing the lowest level in England since the start of the year.

Scotland

Meanwhile, in Scotland, Covid-19 infections have fallen for the sixth successive week, from 218,000 people to 186,700 people.

Around one in 30 are thought to have had the virus in the week to May 1, down from one in 25.

In Northern Ireland 44,900 had the had the virus, down from 74,700 the previous week

A decline from one in 40 to one in 25 of the population.

The ONS figures are based on testing thousands of people at random across the UK whether they have Covid symptoms or not.

Sarah Crofts, head of analytical outputs for the Covid-19 Infection Survey, said: “We continue to see a considerable reduction in infections across the UK, with rates at their lowest level in England since the start of the year.

“Despite this, infections remain high overall.”