78% HAVE NO SYMPTOMS

MANY COULD BE SPREADING VIRUS WITHOUT EVEN KNOWING THEY HAVE IT

ALMOST four out of five people testing positive for coronavirus showed no symptoms, official figures reveal. Only 22 per cent of those with Covid-19 reported symptoms on the day of their tests, according to the Office for National Statistics. And just 33 per cent of positive tests came from people who either showed symptoms on the day or in previous or subsequent tests. Researchers suggested many people may be unwittingly spreading infection, although figures also suggested health and care workers were most likely to test positive.

Meanwhile, another 155 people died in hospitals, care homes and the wider community after testing positive for coronavirus, taking the official UK toll to 44,391. The figures do not include all deaths involving Covid-19, which are thought to have passed 55,000.

The number of excess deaths appears to have fallen below the fiveyear average for the second consecutive week, though experts say many of the most vulnerable will already have died in the earlier stages of the pandemic.

The ONS said yesterday: ‘The disease has had a larger impact on those most vulnerable – for example, those who already suffer from a medical condition – and those at older ages. Some of these deaths would have likely occurred over the duration of the year but have occurred earlier because of the coronavirus.

‘These deaths occurring earlier than expected could mean we start to see a period of deaths below the five-year average.’