Omi-gone! Covid wave crashes to lowest level since June – with fewer than a million now infected

Covid cases have continued to plummet in England, with fewer than one million people infected for the first time in three months, surveillance data suggests.

The Office for National Statistics estimates that just 893,300 people in the country were infected on any given day in the week to August 23. The figure marks a 26 per cent downturn on the previous week.

It means just one in 60 people were testing positive — the lowest level since the week to June 2, when 797,500 were infected (one in 70).

Cases continued to trend downwards across most the UK, with 96,000 logged in Scotland and 47,300 recorded in Wales. However, 35,800 were logged in Northern Ireland, where ONS statisticians said the trend was uncertain.

ONS bosses said it is unclear whether the figure for Northern Ireland — up by a third in a week — marks an end of the tumble in cases.

The statisticians said they will continue to monitor the data, with the return of pupils to classrooms this week, following the summer holiday, expected to cause a surge in infections.

While cases have been plummeting nation-wide since mid-July, health chiefs are expecting a surge in the autumn and winter months, as more people socialise indoors.

To protect against the spike, an autumn booster campaign will kick off from Monday, with 26million people across England eligible for the next-generation vaccine that has been tailored to protect against the dominant Omicron strain.

Kara Steel, senior statistician for the ONS Covid Infection Survey, said: ‘Today’s data shows infection levels continue to decrease across most of the UK, with the number of people with Covid in England now estimated to be under one million for the first time since early June.

‘Though there is an uncertain trend in Northern Ireland, it is too early to say if this marks the end of the recent decrease. We will monitor the data closely to understand the impact of schools returning across the UK.’

The ONS data, based on swabs of thousands of people, estimated cases in Scotland fell 29 per cent in the last week, with one in 40 people thought to be infected.

Infections dropped 28 per cent in Wales, where on in 65 were carrying the virus, and jumped 36 per cent in Northern Ireland, where one in 70 were testing positive, its figures suggest.

In England, the proportion of people infected dropped in all regions apart from the East Midlands.

Infections were lowest in the Yorkshire and the Humber, where just 1.3 per cent of people were infected. The case rate was also below the national average in the West Midlands and the South East (1.5 per cent).

The East Midlands (1.9 per cent), London and the South West (1.8 per cent) had the highest virus prevalence. 

Cases also fell across all age groups.