England's third Covid wave may have already peaked, more official figures suggested today as a swathe of statistics point to a slowing epidemic.
The Office for National Statistics' weekly surveillance report estimated 1.1million people were infected with the virus at any time in the week to October 30 — the equivalent of one in 50.
This was roughly the same as the previous seven-day spell, bringing an end to nearly three months of rising cases which began in August.
Experts say the levelling off suggests the latest wave of Covid has 'likely' come to a natural peak, due to a combination of vaccine immunity and previous infection.
But the ONS data still suggests that the country is recording as many infections now as it was at the peak of the second wave in January and the weekly total is the third highest ever.
Covid cases were falling among under-16s and dipped slightly among 35 to 49-year-olds, but remained static in all other age groups including the booster-eligible over-60s.
It comes after separate data from the UK's largest symptom-tracking study yesterday reported a fall in cases for the first time in weeks, in another sign cases may have peaked.
Professor Tim Spector, the epidemiologist behind the survey, said the country is probably over the 'last great peak of Covid' for the year, but encouraged mask-wearing and social distancing to be safe.
And Britain's daily Covid cases fell again yesterday for the 11th time in 12 days, after a brief blip earlier this week. The Department of Health said there were 37,269 infections recorded, down 6.5 per cent from last Thursday.
The Office for National Statistics estimated that some 1.1million people in England had Covid at any point last week. This is the same as the previous seven-day spell, but the levelling off suggests the outbreak has peaked because fewer people infected with the virus are passing it on to others — either due to self-isolation or immunity from jabs or previous infection
The ONS estimated that cases are falling among under-16s, and there was a slight drop among those aged 35 to 49, but they remained static in all other age groups
Across England's regions a downturn in infections was sggested in the East of England, North West, South East, East Midlands and London. This is likely linked to dropping infections among younger age groups over half-term
The experts behind the ZOE Covid Study — which is based on reports from around 750,000 weekly contributors and more than 40,000 swabs — calculated there were 88,592 daily symptomatic Covid cases across the UK, based on data from 42,359 positive PCR and lateral flow tests taken between October 16 and 30. Around a third of cases (26,928) are among double-jabbed Brits, up from 26,928 last week, the study found.
Covid infection rates fell in all but 10 per cent of areas in England during the half-term week, data from the UK Health and Security Agency's weekly Flu and Covid Surveillance Report shows
Around one in 50 people in private households in England had Covid in the week to October 30, unchanged from the previous week, according to the latest estimates from the Office for National Statistics.
When modelling the level of Covid infections among different age ranges in England, the ONS said rates have increased in the latest week for those from school year 12 to age 24 and for those aged 50 to 69.
