One in 16 people thought to have Covid as rising rates near record highs

Cases of Covid-19 infections are soaring all across the UK and are close to hitting record levels in England. Meanwhile, Scotland and Wales have already reached an all-time high, according to new figures.

Across the whole country, 4.26 million people were likely to have had coronavirus last week, coming close to the 4.30 million recorded in the first week of 2022 which was the highest total since estimates began. Northern Ireland is the only nation in the UK where infections are believed to be dropping, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

It is believed that the surge in cases is being driven by the Omicron BA.2 variant, a more transmissible form of Omicron, the ONS said. The figures indicate that Covid-19 is becoming more prevalent in the UK accompanying an increase in hospital admission of people with the virus.

Read more: Hospital admissions with Covid-19 up almost 40 per cent as cases continue to increase across the region

Around one in 16 people in private households in England – or 3.5 million people – are likely to have had Covid-19 in the week to March 19. This is up from one in 20, or 2.7 million people, in the previous week and is the third week in a row that infections are estimated to have risen.

Wales has also seen its third successive jump in infections, with the figure up from 125,400 people, or one in 25, to 192,900 people, or one in 16: a record high. In Scotland, infections have now risen for eight weeks in a row and have also reached another record high, with nearly half a million people (473,800) likely to have had Covid-19 last week, or one in 11 - this is up from 376,300 people, or one in 14, the previous week.

But in Northern Ireland infections have fallen for the second