Covid infection trend in Wales ‘uncertain’ after small increase

Covid-19 levels in Wales have increased in the latest weekly survey, however the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has described the current trend as uncertain.

According to the latest weekly infection survey, 68,200 people were estimated to have the virus in the week ending 7 March, an increase of 2,000 from the previous week.

The data for the new survey equates to 2.21% of the population, or around 1 in 45 people testing positive for Covid.

The trend is also described as uncertain in England and Northern Ireland, while infections have fallen in Scotland.

Levelled off

Total infections for the whole of the UK are broadly unchanged, suggesting the rise in recent weeks may have levelled off.

An estimated 1.52 million people in private households in the UK were likely to have Covid-19 in the week to March 7, compared with 1.55 million in the previous week.

Infections have been rising since the end of January, driven by the Omicron variant BA.2.75.

Levels are still some way from the peak reached during the wave of the virus at Christmas 2022, when the UK total climbed to just under three million.

Covid-19 is currently most prevalent in England, where one in 40 people are estimated to have the virus.

For Scotland it is one in 50 and in Northern Ireland it is one in 70.

This is the penultimate update of the ONS infection survey, which is the most reliable measure of the prevalence of Covid-19 but which is coming to a halt later this month.

Any future surveillance of coronavirus will be announced “in due course” after a review is carried out to ensure it is “cost effective”, according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).

The decision brings to an end a survey that has run continuously for nearly three years, and which has been recognised worldwide as the “gold standard” for estimating levels of coronavirus among the population.

Besides providing vital data on the scale and duration of each wave of the virus, the survey has supplied crucial information on the emergence of new variants, antibody levels and long Covid.