Covid surge: 'One in 20' people in Scotland had virus last week

Coronavirus cases have risen across the UK.

Covid surge: ‘One in 20’ people in Scotland had virus last week iStock

One in 20 people in Scotland are estimated to have had Covid-19 last week.

It is a significant increase from the estimate of one in 30 people the previous week.

It follows warnings the true number of infections could be much higher after testing for the virus was scaled back earlier this year.

Official figures published by the Office for National Statistics indicate a rise in the virus across all four UK nations.

It is believed that the rise is due to the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 variants.

The statistics were published by the ONS.Website

According to the ONS, around 250,700 people tested positive for the virus in the week to June 18.

Comparatively, one in 40 are thought to have had Covid-19 last week in England, with one in 45 in Wales and one in 30 in Northern Ireland.

Kara Steel, senior statistician for the ONS Covid-19 Infection Survey, said: “Rates have continued to rise across the UK, with the largest increase seen in Scotland.

“In England, infections increased across all age groups, with the lowest level of infection seen in school-aged children.

“These increases are largely driven by the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 variants. We will continue to closely monitor the data.”

Separate Public Health Scotland (PHS) data published on Wednesday showed cases of Covid-19 rose by almost a third in Scotland last week.

There were 15,541 cases reported in the week to June 19, PHS said, up 30.5% from 11,909 the previous week.

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