UK Covid-19: infections soar by a million in just one week

Official data shows Covid cases have risen by a million in a week in the United Kingdom.

The data from the Office for National Statistics also show swab tests suggests around one in every 16 people in the UK is infected – as the Omicron variant BA.2 continues to spread.

UK Covid-19: infections soar by a million in just one week

The data shows that just under 4.3 million people – a climb from 3.3m the previous week. The figures for the week ending 19 March are thought to give the most accurate reflection of what’s happening with Covid in the community.

Rates were up in England and Wales, and Scotland hit a record high. In Northern Ireland infections have started to decline.

The rates across the nations were:

England: 6.4%, up from 4.9% last week – approximately one in 16 people
Wales: 6.4%, up from 4.1% last week – approximately one in 16 people
Northern Ireland: 5.9%, down from 7.1% last week – approximately one in 17 people
Scotland: 9%, up from 7.15% last week – approximately one in 11 people

The rise in infections means the UK is expecting Covid hospitalisations to rise too, despite Covid vaccines helping to stop many severe cases, say experts.

The latest figures show there were 16,75 patients in hospital with Covid on 23 March – but around half will have been admitted for something else, rather than Covid but have tested positive.

Of those patients, just over 300 of them needed an intensive care bed with a ventilator to help them breathe.

Prof Chris Whitty said earlier this week that while the virus was causing pressure in the NHS, the high rates of transmission were fortunately not translating into high numbers of intensive care cases and deaths.

NHS staff absences at hospitals in England due to Covid have risen by 31 per cent on the week on March 13.