Covid infection rates fall for sixth consecutive week

The proportion of Scots with Covid-19 has fallen for the sixth week in a row – with the latest indication suggesting one in 30 people have the virus.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimates 186,700 people in Scotland had coronavirus in the week ending Sunday May 1.

It makes it the sixth consecutive week the rate has fallen in Scotland, with the proportion of people infected down from around one in 25 the previous week.

However the proportion of the population with the virus is still higher than in both Northern Ireland and England – where it estimated one in 40 and one in 35 people had the virus respectively in the week ending April 30.

In Wales, the ONS estimates around one in 25 people had the virus in the seven days up to Saturday.

Sarah Crofts, head of analytical outputs for the Covid-19 Infection Survey at the ONS, said it is continuing to see “a considerable reduction in infections across the UK” – noting that rates in England are at the lowest level since the start of the year.

However she added: “Despite this, infections remain high overall.”

Covid infection rates in Scotland peaked in the spring, as the BA.2 variant of Omicron saw cases surge, with one in 11 people estimated to have had the virus in the week ending March 20.