The prevalence of COVID-19 infections in England increased within the week ending September 25, Britain’s Office for National Statistics said on Friday, led by a rise in infections in school-age children.
Schools in England are open for around a month, and a few epidemiologists have highlighted concern about rising cases among children, although it’s yet to translate into a sustained increase in infections for the population more broadly.
There was an estimated prevalence of 4.58% among secondary school-age children, meaning over 1 in 25 tested positive for COVID-19, compared to 2.81% of kids within the age range testing positive within the previous week.
The overall prevalence figure for England was 1 in 85, slightly higher from the previous week’s figure of 1 in 90, although it remains not up to it had been period of time ago, when it absolutely was estimated at 1 in 80.
The estimated Covid-19 reproduction number might also have risen slightly, government figures showed.
The ONS Infection Survey looks to estimate infection numbers within the community beyond people who have step to the fore to be tested by using sampling to administer an estimate of prevalence that’s unaffected by fluctuations daily testing figures.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has outlined a winter commit to deal with the coronavirus, and kids over 12 years old are being offered a COVID-19 shot.
But vaccinations of these aged 12-15 only began last week, leaving England and other nations of the uk behind the us and a few other European countries.
In Scotland, which sets its own health policy and where schools went back in mid-August, recorded daily cases have fallen after hitting record highs in late August.