Marked rise in over-70s Covid infections

TOTAL Covid-19 infections in the UK have jumped 25% to their highest level since mid-August, though not all parts of the country are currently experiencing a rise, new figures show.

England and Northern Ireland have both seen an increase while the trend in Scotland and Wales is uncertain.

There has also been a “marked” rise in infection levels among over70s. Several new Covid-19 variants have been identified in the UK but are all circulating at a low level. It is not yet clear if they are the main drivers of the increase in infections.

Some 1.3 million people in private households across the UK are likely to have tested positive for coronavirus in the week to September 26, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

This is up from 1.1 million in the previous week. It is the highest UKwide total since the week to August 16 but is still some way below the million weekly infections in early July, at the peak of the wave caused by the Omicron BA.4/BA.5 subvariants of the virus.

There is a lag in the reporting of the ONS data due to the time it takes for the survey to be compiled. More recent figures show the number of people in hospital who have tested positive for Covid-19 is now on a clear upwards trend in much of the country, suggesting a fresh wave of coronavirus is under way.