Record UK virus levels as NI infections continue to rise

Covid-19 infections remain at or near record levels in all four UK nations, new figures suggest.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

Around one in 50 people in private households in England had Covid-19 in the week to October 30, unchanged from the previous week, according to the latest estimates from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

One in 50 is the equivalent of about 1.1 million people, and is the same proportion of people who were estimated to have coronavirus at the peak of the second wave in early January.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

That is the highest level of infections since weekly ONS estimates began in July 2020.

Covid-19 infections remain at or near record levels across the UKCovid-19 infections remain at or near record levels across the UK
Covid-19 infections remain at or near record levels across the UK

The latest figure for Northern Ireland is one in 65, up week-on-week from one in 75 but slightly below the record high of one in 40 estimated in mid-August.

In Wales, around one in 40 people had Covid-19 last week – unchanged on the previous week and again the highest since estimates began.

For Scotland, the estimate is one in 80 – down slightly from one in 75 the previous week, and below September’s peak of one in 45.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The ONS described the longer-term trend in England, Scotland and Wales as “uncertain”, while the percentage of people testing positive in Northern Ireland has “continued to increase”.

Meanwhile fifty deaths linked to Covid-19 occurred in Northern Ireland in the latest week subjected to statistical analysis.

The fatalities reported by Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (Nisra) happened in the week October 23 to October 29.

The figures show a continued recent upward trend in deaths – 49 were recorded by Nisra in the previous week and 35 in the week before that.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The latest deaths take the total number of coronavirus-linked fatalities recorded by Nisra to 3,666.

The Department of Health figures yesterday showed a further four patients who had previously tested positive for Covid-19 in Northern Ireland have died. Another 1,164 cases of the virus were also notified by the Department of Health on Friday. On Friday morning there were 380 Covid-positive patients in hospital, with 43 in intensive care.

Some 2,707,819 vaccinations have been administered in the region.