Prevalence of the virus is the lowest for several weeks.
29 April 2022
Covid-19 infections are continuing to fall across most of the UK, though the virus is still circulating at high levels, figures show.
England, Scotland and Wales have all recorded a drop in infections while the trend in Northern Ireland is “uncertain”, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Across the UK, 2.9 million people in private households are estimated to have had Covid-19 in the week to April 23, down from 3.8 million the previous week.
Total infections in the UK hit a weekly record of 4.9 million in late March.
The figures confirm the surge in Covid-19 driven by the Omicron BA.2 variant is now receding, but prevalence of the virus is high by historic standards.
In England, infections have fallen for the third week running, with 2.4 million people likely to test positive for Covid-19, or around one in 25 – down from 3.2 million, or one in 17.
This is the lowest estimate for infections in England since the beginning of March.
Wales has seen levels drop for the second week in a row, with 172,300 people estimated to have coronavirus, or one in 18 – down from 198,400, or one in 15, and the lowest since early March.
The picture is different in Northern Ireland, where infections have increased slightly, though prevalence of the virus is lower than the other UK nations and the ONS describes the trend as “uncertain”.
Some 74,700 people in Northern Ireland were likely to have had Covid-19 last week, or one in 25, up from 65,300 people, or one in 30.
In Scotland, Covid-19 infections have fallen for the fifth successive week.
Some 218,000 people were estimated to have had the virus in the seven days to April 23, or around one in 25.
This is down from 281,400 people, or one in 19, the previous week, and is the lowest level since early February.
