Covid infections in Wales levelling off after six-week surge

The level of Covid infection in Wales has levelled off according to the latest figures released by the Office for National Statistics.

In the weekly infection survey for the seven days ending 13 July 183,200, or one in 17 people were estimated to have the virus, broadly unchanged on 183,500 in the previous week, which was also one in 17.

The number of infections had risen for six weeks in a row in Wales prior to the latest data and over the previous three surveys the number of people with Covid has jumped by 40%, 55% and 20% per week.

Covid-19 remains most prevalent in Scotland, where 340,900 people were estimated to have had the virus in the week to July 14, or around one in 15.

This is up slightly from 334,000, or one in 16, and is the highest estimate for Scotland since the start of April – although the ONS describes the trend here as “uncertain”.

In England, 3.1 million people were likely to have had the virus in the week to July 13, the equivalent of around one in 17.

This is up from 2.9 million, or one in 19, a week earlier.

In Northern Ireland, infections have dropped to an estimated 88,400 people, or one in 20, down from 107,600, or one in 17.

The ONS describes the trend in both Wales and Northern Ireland as uncertain.

A total of 3.8 million people in private households in the UK are estimated to have had Covid-19 in the week to July 13/14, up 7% from 3.5 million in the previous seven days.

This is the highest estimate for total infections since mid-April but is still below the record of 4.9 million reached at the end of March.

England

Kara Steel, ONS senior statistician for the Covid-19 infection survey, said: “Infections have, overall, continued to increase in England, reaching similar levels to those seen in April during the BA.2 wave.

“However, we are seeing some uncertain trends in the latest data across the other UK countries, some English regions and among some age groups.

“It is too early to say if this most recent wave is starting to peak, but we will continue to closely monitor the data.”

The rise in total UK infections has been driven by a jump in England, where 3.1 million people were likely to have had the virus in the week to July 13.

This is up from 2.9 million, or one in 19, a week earlier.