Covid infections in England no longer falling and have plateaued, official data shows

Covid-19 infections are no longer falling and have plateaued at an estimated 1 in 340 people, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported on Friday.

It is the first time community infections have not declined since late January. England’s third lockdown was imposed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson on 5 January.

“In England, the percentage of people testing positive for the coronavirus (Covid-19) is likely to have levelled off in the week ending 20 March 2021,” the ONS said.

Mr Johnson has set out a four-stage roadmap out of lockdown, with minor changes coming into force on Monday allowing six people to meet up outside.

On Tuesday Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty said that a recent decline in infections during England’s latest lockdown was slowing, but said that was to be expected.

The ONS added that the percentage of people testing positive for Covid-19 is estimated to have increased in north-west England, and there are possible signs of a rise in Yorkshire and the Humber.

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Other regions have shown a fall, although the trend is uncertain for the East Midlands and north-east England.

Yorkshire and the Humber had the highest proportion of people of any region in England likely to test positive for coronavirus in the week to 20 March, at around one in 200 people. North-west England had the next highest estimate at one in 250.

In Wales, around one in 450 people are estimated to have had Covid-19 in the week to 20 March - broadly similar to one in 430 for the week to 13 March.

In Northern Ireland, the ONS estimates around one in 320 people had Covid-19 in the week to 20 March – broadly similar to one in 315 in the previous week.

The estimate for Scotland for the week to 20 March is around one in 240 people, up from one in 275.

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Additional reporting by agencies