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http://www.bbc.com/news/health-61524055


Covid infections down again to one in 50, says ONS
By Philippa Roxby
Health reporter

Published6 minutes agocommentsComments

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Coronavirus pandemic
People walking along Oxford Street
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Covid infections have fallen again to one in 50 people in the UK,
according to the latest estimates from the Office for National
Statistics (ONS).

That means around 1.27 million people had coronavirus in the week to 13
May - down 14% from the week before.

Infections have been coming down steeply since the end of March, after
the Omicron variant pushed up cases.

Over-65s and health and care staff are among groups to be offered a
vaccine in the autumn to top up protection.

Clinically vulnerable adults aged 16 to 64 will also be offered a Covid
jab ahead of the winter, when the virus could spread more widely.

A form of the Omicron variant of coronavirus, called BA.2, is the most
common cause of Covid, but two others - BA.4 and BA.5 - have now been
named 'variants of concern' by UK health officials.


"They are likely to have a growth advantage over BA.2," says the UK
Health Security Agency in its latest report on variants.

However, it cautions that this is based on a small number of cases, and
there is still a lot of uncertainty.

BA.4 and BA.5 are currently causing another Covid wave in South Africa.
In the UK, levels are very low.

UK infections continue to fall
Covid infections are now at their lowest level since mid-December, the
ONS says, based on swab tests of thousands of people in households
across the UK, whether they have symptoms or not.

Since free testing has now ended in England, and is restricted in
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the ONS survey is the most
accurate picture of the spread of Covid-19.

From the positive tests collected, the ONS estimates that infections
fell in all four UK nations in mid-May.

Current rates are:

one in 55 in England - down from one in 45 the week before
one in 40 in Wales - down from one in 35 the week before
one in 60 in Northern Ireland - down from one in 55 the week before
one in 45 in Scotland - down from one in 35 the week before
However, the ONS found that infections may no longer be falling in the south-east and south-west of England. And among under-35s, the drop in infections looks to be slowing down.

Sarah Crofts, head of analytical outputs for the Covid-19 Infection
Survey, said: "Today's figures continue to show a welcome decline in
infections across the UK, reaching their lowest point in England since
the start of December last year.

"While younger age groups continue to be the lowest infected, there are
early signs of the decrease slowing for under-35s.

"We will continue to monitor these patterns over the coming weeks, since
it is too early to say if this is part of a longer trend."

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