Covid infection rates in Wales fall to lowest level in five months

Covid-19 infection rates in Wales have fallen to their lowest level since the week ending 16 December 2021.

According to the latest figures released by the Office for National Statistics, infections have declined for the fourth week in a row, with 88,300 people estimated to have coronavirus in the seven days to 7 May.

The ONS estimates that to 2.91% of the population had the virus last week, the equivalent of around 1 in 35 people.

The number of people with Covid is down 33% from the previous week when 131,600 people had Covid, equating to 4.33% of the population or around 1 in 25 people.

In England, infections have fallen for the fifth week running, with 1.2 million people likely to test positive for Covid-19, the equivalent of around one in 45.

This is down from 1.6 million, or one in 35, and is also the lowest estimate since the week ending December 16 2021.

In Scotland, infections are now at their lowest since the week ending December 23, with 158,200 people estimated to have had the virus in the seven days to May 7, or around one in 35.

This is down from 186,700 people, or one in 30, the previous week.

The virus is least prevalent in Northern Ireland, where infections have dropped to their lowest level since early November.

Some 33,800 people were likely to have had Covid-19 last week, or one in 55, down from 44,900, or one in 40.

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