Covid infections across the UK have fallen to their lowest level for two months

Wales has seen a significant drop in its Covid infection rate in fresh evidence the current wave of the virus is receding. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) infection survey for the week ending August 8 shows that the estimated number of people testing positive for Covid was 72,600, equating to 2.39% of the population or around one in 40 people.

That is a significant drop on the 108,800 (3.58%), or around one in 30 people, recorded in Wales for the week ending July 25, which was the last time the ONS estimated infection levels. A new booster jab will be offered to everyone in Wales aged 50 and over from next month, as well as those with underlying health conditions, to increase protection ahead of the future waves of the virus.

Across the UK Covid infections have fallen to their lowest level since mid-June. The ONS said a total of 1.7 million people in private households were estimated to have had Covid-19 in the week to August 8. That is a drop of 34% from 2.6 million in the week ending July 26.

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In England, around 1,432,900 people were testing positive, equating to 2.63% of the population or around one in 40 people in the latest reporting week. In Scotland it was was 164,100 (3.12%) or around one in 30 people and in Northern Ireland it was 36,600 (2.00%) or around one in 50 people.

The current wave has been driven by the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants of the virus and saw weekly infections climb as high as 3.8 million in early July.

Sarah Crofts, head of analytical outputs for the Covid-19 infection survey, said: "Infections have continued to fall across much of the UK to levels last seen in mid-June. Our latest data show these decreases are among nearly all ages in England with the lowest levels seen among children. We will continue to monitor the data closely to understand the impact of the summer holidays."

The ONS Covid-19 infection survey was launched in April 2020 to provide timely estimates on how many people were infected with the virus. Survey workers have visited people at their homes monthly to collect nose and throat swabs and, for some participants, blood samples, and have asked survey respondents a series of questions. Participants have always taken their own samples, and survey workers have stayed at least two metres away.

At its largest, the survey collected samples and information from around 400,000 people across the UK every month. However, this is changing. All of this information is now being collected online or by telephone, and participants can post their swab and blood samples or get them collected by a courier.

Sarah Crofts added: "While these changes take place, we aim to continue to provide regular estimates of Covid-19 swab and antibody positivity to our high-quality standards. If we identify that further work is needed to meet these standards, it is possible that there could be changes to some of our publications over the summer months."

Meanwhile the number of people in hospital with Covid has remained relatively stable in Wales. On August 16, of the 358 in acute hospitals with Covid, just 44 (12%) were people being activity treated for for the virus. A week earlier it was also 12%. Twelve coronavirus patients in Wales were in invasive ventilated beds in intensive care on August 16, nearly half (five) of whom were in Cardiff and Vale UHB.

Eligible adults in Wales are being invited for an autumn Covid booster vaccine. The rollout will begin at the start of next month to improve the immunity of those at higher risk from the virus. A single dose of the vaccine will be offered to:

In line with advice from the UK's Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, eligible adults aged 18 and above will initially be offered the Moderna vaccine which protects from both the original Covid virus and the Omicron variant. Those eligible aged under 18 will be offered the Pfizer vaccine. Both vaccines will be offered at least three months after a previous dose.

Adults will mostly be invited via letter to attend a vaccination centre, GP or pharmacy for their jab. You can read all the key details on the upcoming roll-out here.

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