Covid infecting one in 30 in the UK, says ONS

Covid infections are rising again across the UK, the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show.

An estimated 2.3 million people or one in 30 has the virus – a rise of 32% on the week before.

The rise is being driven by two new fast-spreading subvariants of Omicron – called BA.4 and BA.5.

People can be infected even if they’ve had Covid before, but jabs are helping to protect against serious illness.

In the week ending 24 June, the ONS estimates Covid rates were:

Sarah Crofts, from the ONS, said: “Across the UK we’ve seen a continued increase of over half a million infections, likely caused by the growth of BA.4 and BA.5 variants.”

In its analysis of England, it found infections were going up in all regions and in all age groups.

In Scotland, which has the highest Covid rates in the UK, the rise in infections may be slowing slightly.