According to the Office for National Statistics, around 3.8m people - one in 17 of the UK population - have coronavirus. Since June the number of people testing positive across the UK has been rising but the rate of rising is showing signs of slowing down.

Other, more recent figures, hint cases may be on the way down. The ONS data is always a couple of weeks behind the curve for new infections but this big dataset gives the most accurate overview for the UK.

Other data sources, such as the government Covid dashboard - which is more current but reflects far fewer Covid test results - suggest that for England the number of new infections may already have surged.

In the latest report, for the week ending 13 July, the ONS estimates Covid rates were:

• One in 17 in England - up from one in 19 the week before
• One in 17 in Wales - the same as the previous week
• One in 20 in Northern Ireland - down from one in 17
• One in 15 in Scotland - up from one in 16
Many of the recent cases have been caused by fast-spreading sub-variants of Omicron, called BA.4 and BA.5.

People are becoming more careless after the vaccines and vaccines are helping by lowering the death rates. It doesn’t fully protect us from the Covid 19.

Source: The BBC