Covid infections in Wales fall for the sixth week in a row

Covid-19 infections have continued to fall in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, but have risen slightly in Scotland, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Covid-19 infections in Wales have declined for the sixth week in a row, with 52,900 people estimated to have coronavirus over the week ending 21 May, equating to 1.74% of the population or around 1 in 55 people.

The latest figures have seen the number of people with the virus in Wales fall by over 34% from the previous week.

The ONS estimated 80,700 people, to 2.66% of the population had Covid the week ending 14 May.

As the Welsh Government confirmed that remaining Covid restrictions would be lifted on Monday, it also revealed the number of Covid-19 related patients in hospitals has fallen to less than 650, the lowest level since December 2021.

Across the UK, a total of 1.1 million people in private households are estimated to have had the virus in the week to 21 May, down from 1.3 million the previous week.

Northern Ireland

The virus continues to be least prevalent in Northern Ireland, where infections are now at their lowest level since mid-October 2021.

Some 23,300 people were estimated to have Covid-19 here last week, or one in 80, down from 29,800, or one in 60.

It is the lowest estimate for infections since the end of November 2021, when virus levels were just starting to rise due to the spread of the original Omicron variant.

In England, infections have fallen for the seventh week running, with 874,400 people likely to test positive for Covid-19 – the equivalent of around one in 60.

This is down week-on-week from 1.0 million, or one in 55.

But in Scotland, 135,400 people were likely to have had the virus last week, or one in 40: up from 122,200, or one in 45 – a trend the ONS describes as “uncertain”.