'Marked increase' of covid-19 in England with estimated 224,400 cases

9 October 2020, 12:14 | Updated: 9 October 2020, 12:54

An estimated 224,400 people had coronavirus in England between 25 September and 1 October, ONS figures showed today.

The ONS said there has been a "marked increase" in the rate of new infections over the last six weeks.

There were an average of 17,200 new cases per day of Covid-19 in private households in England during that seven-day period, according to the latest estimates from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The ONS said that 0.41 per cent of the population had the virus in England between those dates, outside care homes, hospitals and other institutional settings.

The highest infection rates were seen in the North East, North West and Yorkshire and The Humber.

The ONS said that in Wales around 1 in 500 people had the virus over that period, around 6,100 people.

Smaller increases have occurred in all other regions except for south-east England (outside London).

When modelling the level of infection among different age groups, the ONS said the highest rates are among older teenagers and young adults (from school year 12 through to age 24), where "rates have grown very rapidly in the most recent weeks".

The second highest rates are for the secondary school age group (school years seven to 11).

Increases are apparent across other age groups, but "to a much lesser extent".

Downing Street said it "won't hesitate to act" to tackle rising coronavirus cases amid reports that new restrictions will be imposed next week.

A Number 10 spokesman said: "We have been clear that we are seeing cases rise across the country, especially in the North East and North West.

"And as we have been clear throughout the pandemic, we will continue to keep all that data under review and won't hesitate to act in order to protect communities and save lives."