Scotland’s Covid infection levels no longer highest in UK, figures suggest

Coronavirus levels in Scotland were no longer the highest in the UK last week, new figures suggest.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the trend in the proportion of people in private households in Scotland testing positive for Covid-19 was “uncertain” in the week ending September 24.

It estimates 113,000 people, equating to around one in 45, had coronavirus over that period, the same as the week to September 20.

Scotland no longer had the highest infection levels in the UK, after topping the table in previous weeks.

In England it is estimated around one in 50 people had Covid-19 in the week ending September 24.

The ONS said the trend in Wales was “uncertain”, with around one in 50 people estimated to have coronavirus in the week to September 26, while in Northern Ireland it was around one in 40.

Sarah Crofts, deputy director of the ONS Covid-19 Infection Survey, said: “Infections have continued to increase in England, reaching levels last seen in mid-August.

“The rest of the UK is a mixed picture, with uncertain trends in Wales and Scotland and a recent increase in Northern Ireland.

“Amongst the over-70s there has been a marked increase in infections in England this week, a trend which we will closely monitor as the winter months progress.”