People at a Covid walk-in test centre in Netham Park in Bristol
(Picture: PA)Covid-19 infections in most of the UK remain near or at record levels, with only Scotland having seen a clear week-on-week drop in numbers, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Some 4.88 million people in private households in the UK are estimated to have had the virus last week, down very slightly from a record 4.91 million in the previous week.
In England, around one in 13 people were likely to test positive for Covid-19 in the week to April 2, or 4.1 million people – unchanged from the week to March 26.
In Wales, the estimate is up from 212,000 people, or one in 14, to 230,800 people, or one in 13.
Both England and Wales are continuing to see record infection levels.
Last week, the REACT Covid study estimated that infections may be plateauing in younger age groups after reaching their peak - but are continuing to rise in older people.
Sarah Crofts, head of analytical outputs for the ONS Covid survey, said: “While infections remain high, there are early signs in our latest data that they may no longer be increasing in some parts of the UK.
“Across English regions, there is a mixed picture in trends and we have seen a welcome decrease in Scotland.
“However, rates in Wales continue to rise and the trend in Northern Ireland is uncertain.
“It is too early to say if infections have peaked in England and Scotland. We will continue to monitor the data closely.”
Meanwhile, more than three-quarters of a million people in the UK say they have experienced Covid that has lasted for at least a year, new figures show.
The ONS estimates 1.7 million people were likely to be experiencing symptoms of long Covid in the four weeks to March 5, the equivalent of 2.7 per cent of the population.
