Number of new coronavirus cases in the UK has halved
The number of new coronavirus cases in the UK has halved, new data published today said.
The survey by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), IQVIA, the University of Oxford and UK Biocentre tested individuals from 9,906 households for Covid-19 with swab tests between 17 May and 30 May.
They study estimated that (0.1 per cent) of the British population was estimated to have had Covid-19 at any given time during the period, equating to an average of 53,000 people
That total is down from 133,000 in the last round of figures.
The ONS said modelling of the trend over time shows evidence that the number of people in England testing positive has decreased in recent weeks.
There were an estimated 39,000 new Covid-19 infections per week in England between 26 April and 30 May 2020, equating to an incidence rate per week of 0.07 new cases per 100 people, the survey said.
Individuals working outside the home show higher rates of positive tests than those who work from home.
Patient-facing healthcare workers and resident-facing social care workers show higher rates of positive tests than people not working in these roles.
The ONS said 29 per cent of people in the study who tested positive for Covid-19 did not report symptoms at the time of the visit or earlier.
The report said: “There is some evidence that the number of people in England testing positive has decreased in recent weeks.”
The ONS said that when analysing data for the two most recent non-overlapping 14 day periods, there is some evidence of a decrease in the proportion of people in the community testing positive.
The ONS says there is now a downward trend – from more than 0.4 per cent of British people being infected at the end of April down to 0.1 per cent at the end of May.