Case rates of Covid-19 are rising in nearly all age groups and regions across England

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NS

The latest figures show high rates of coronavirus infection in most areas of England and among almost all age groups.

The Public Health England (PHE) data comes after an expert warned that the rate of decline in new daily symptom cases across the UK could slow.

Case rates are up in all areas of England except the North East and among all age groups except people aged 10-19, according to PHE’s latest weekly surveillance report.

The highest rate is between 20 to 29 years old, with 670.7 cases per 100,000 people in the seven days to August 8, a weekly increase of 628.6.

The second highest rate is between 10 to 19 years old, down from 515.4 to 456.1.

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The lowest rate is among people aged 80 and over: 66.6, up slightly from 65.0.

Yorkshire and Humber is the area with the highest rate, with 372.4 cases per 100,000 people in the seven days to 8 August, a weekly increase of 359.7.

The East Midlands has the second-highest rate: 338.5, up from 312.7, the South East of England has the lowest: 255.0, up from 234.0 and in the Northeast it’s down from 325.5 to 286.4.

Dr Yvonne Doyle, medical director for Public Health England, said: “The data indicate that cases of Covid-19 are currently stable, although rates remain high across the country.”

Vaccines “break the link between infection and serious illness,” she said.

Meanwhile, a total of 179,748 people have tested positive for Covid-19 in England at least once a week until August 4, according to the latest testing and tracking numbers.

This is a 5% decrease from the previous week and the second consecutive weekly decline.

Figures published last week saw numbers drop for the first time in nearly three months.

Cases remain relatively low in the fully vaccinated group, which is a sign that the vaccines are working and preventing the spread of the disease

According to separate data from the Zoe Covid study, there are currently 45,911 new daily exposures to the virus in the UK on average, based on PCR and lateral flow test data from up to five days ago.

While this is down from last week’s figure of 46,905, the researchers said the fact that the drop was small indicates that the rate of decline has slowed.

Professor Tim Spector, senior study scientist and professor of genetic epidemiology at King’s College London, said: “The decline in cases we saw last week appears to have faltered over the past few days, and we are seeing signs of an increase.

“However, it is too early to say if this is the start of another sharp increase like the one we saw in July.

“While it is reassuring to see that the relaxed restrictions have not caused a sharp rise in cases, it is difficult to predict the future. Cases are still relatively low in the fully vaccinated group, showing that the vaccines are working and preventing the spread.”

He said their research had recently noted a “slight increase” in cases among those over 60 who had been vaccinated some time ago, adding: “This may be due to weak immunity and we are closely monitoring the performance of the vaccines more of the time.”

The government is awaiting advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization (JCVI) on the launch of booster vaccines, which could start as early as next month.

Experts said they are still evaluating the data before they can confirm whether all people over 50 who are clinically vulnerable will need a third stroke.

Zoe’s data is based on reports from nearly 1 million contributors per week and the proportion of users who have recently developed symptoms who have received positive smear tests.

The researchers said the latest numbers were based on data from 25,767 recent swab tests conducted between July 24 and August 7.

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