Covid-19: Infection rate rises in UK - with 18 to 44 year-olds worst affected

Covid-19 infection levels are rising, with around one in 24 people in England and Scotland likely to have tested positive for coronavirus in mid-December.

New figures suggest that the virus is more prevalent among 18 to 44 year-olds than in older age groups, with London and the south east experiencing the highest regional rates. The data has been published as part of the new winter Covid-19 infection study, which will monitor prevalence of the virus during the next few months.

The study is being run by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and is based on data collected from around 150,000 individuals.

Professor Steven Riley, UKHSA director-general for data and surveillance, said: "At this time of year, the cold weather, shorter days and increased socialising mean that the potential for transmission of respiratory viruses like Covid-19 is particularly high. This, as well as the possible impact of new variants, means it’s not unexpected to see cases increasing.

"If you are showing symptoms of Covid-19 or other respiratory illnesses, you should try to limit your contact with other people as much as possible, especially those who are older or more vulnerable."

The Covid-19 variant Omicron BA.2.86, first identified in August, is now the dominant variant in circulation in England, according to the UKHSA. One of the subvariants of BA.2.86, called JN.1, was this week classified by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as a separate “variant of interest” due to its “rapidly increasingly spread” around the world.

However, JN.1 has yet to become prevalent enough in the UK for the UKHSA to classify it as a variant here.