According to the Office of National Statistics, Omicron variants BA.4 and BA.5 are likely to blame for the recent increase. They are believed to be the most prevalent strains in the United Kingdom.
The previous week’s estimate was 1,7 million, making this week’s estimate the highest since late April.
However, it is still below the record high of 4,9 million sets at the end of March.
According to the Office of National Statistics, Omicron variants BA.4 and BA.5 are likely to blame for the recent increase.
They are believed to be the most prevalent strains in the United Kingdom.
The World Health Organization has issued a warning that the pandemic is far from over, as more than 100 countries report an increase in cases.
And the latest ONS statistics will not include the dozens of cases reported by revelers who attended Glastonbury last week.
One out of 18, or 288,200 people, were likely to have tested positive for COVID last week in Scotland, where the virus continues to be most prevalent.
This is an increase from the previous week’s total of 250,700 or one in twenty.
More than 1.8 million people in England were likely infected with the virus last week or roughly one in thirty.
This is up from the previous week’s total of 1,400,000, or one in forty people.
The infection rate in Wales has risen dramatically to 106,500, or one in thirty, from 68,500, or one in forty-five.
In Northern Ireland, the estimated number of infections increased to 71,000, or one in every 25, from 59,900, or one in every 30.
Sarah Crofts, head of analytical outputs for the COVID-19 infection survey at the Office for National Statistics, stated: “Over 500,000 infections have continued to rise in the United Kingdom, likely due to the spread of BA.4 and BA.5 variants.
“This increase can be observed in all age groups, countries, and regions of England.
“We will continue to closely monitor the data in the coming weeks to determine if this growth continues”.
