Coronavirus cases FELL again in England in the first week of December — but there were still 481,500 people infected at the end of lockdown, ONS figures show
- Total of 481,500 people tested positive in seven days up to December 5, down from 521,300 week prior (8%)
- Third week in row weekly cases dropped after reaching all-time high of 664,700 in week up to November 14
- Infections fell in every region of the country except in London, the ONS said, and ‘signs of possible rise in East’
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The number of people catching coronavirus in England fell by almost 10 per cent in the final week of the second national lockdown, official data shows.
A total of 481,500 people tested positive for the disease in the seven days up to December 5, down from 521,300 the week prior (8 per cent), according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
It was the third week in a row that weekly infections dropped after reaching an all-time high of 664,700 in the week up to November 14.
The 481,500 weekly case figure means that about one in 115 people in England were carrying the coronavirus at any given time, compared to one in 105 the previous seven days.
Infections fell in every region of the country except in London, the ONS said, and there are ‘early signs that rates may have increased in the East’.
The Government-run data collecting body warned Covid-19 transmission continued to rise among secondary school-age children and less so in people in their 40s — despite the lockdown.
But the percentage of people testing positive decreased in older teenagers and young adults, those aged 25 to 34 years and 50 to 69 years, it added.
Even though cases are coming down in the North West, Yorkshire and the North East — where swathes were put into Tier 3 restrictions on December 2 — the rate of infection still remained highest in those regions in the most recent period.
North-west England has the highest rate (with an estimated 1.3 per cent of people in private households testing positive for Covid-19), followed by Yorkshire & the Humber (1.2 per cent) and north-east England (1.1 per cent). South West England has the lowest rate (0.4 per cent).
In Wales, the percentage of people testing positive for Covid-19 has increased in recent weeks, the ONS said. An estimated 25,600 people in private households had Covid-19 between November 29 and December 5 — the equivalent of 0.84% of the population.
This is up from an estimated 18,100 people for the period November 22 to 28, or 0.60 per cent of the population. Because of the relatively small number of tests and low number of positives in its Wales sample, results should be interpreted with caution, the ONS added.
In Northern Ireland, an estimated 7,800 people had Covid-19 between November 29 and December 5, or 0.43% of the population. This is down from an estimated 9,500 people for the period November 22 to 28, or 0.52% of the population.
In Scotland, an estimated 43,300 people had Covid-19 between November 29 and December 5, or 0.82 per cent of the population – up from 40,900 people, or 0.78 per cent, for November 22 to 28. All figures are for people in private households.
