Gone! Covid wave drops to lowest level since June – less than a million are now infected –

Surveillance data shows Covid cases in the UK continue to decline, with less than a million people infected for the first time in three months.

The National Bureau of Statistics estimates that only 893,300 people were infected in the country on any given day of the week through August 23. The figure marks a 26 percent decrease from the previous week.

This means that only one out of 60 people tested positive; this is the lowest level from week 797,500 infected (one in 70) to June 2.

Cases continued to decline in most of the UK, with 96,000 registered cases in Scotland and 47,300 in Wales. However, 35,800 people were registered in Northern Ireland, which ONS statisticians say the trend is uncertain.

US leaders said it was unclear whether the Northern Ireland figure – a third increase in a week – would end the decline in cases.

Statisticians said they will continue to monitor the data and that students returning to class this week after the summer break are expected to trigger a wave of infections.

While cases have fallen across the country since mid-July, health directors expect an increase in the fall and winter as more people socialize indoors.

To guard against the spike, an autumn recall campaign will begin Monday, when 26 million people across the UK are eligible for the next-generation vaccine specifically designed to protect against the dominant Omicron strain.

Kara Steel, senior statistician for the US Covid Infection Survey, said: “Today’s data shows that infection levels continue to fall in most of the UK and the number of Covid patients in the UK is estimated to be less than a million for the first time. Since the beginning of June.

“While there is an uncertain trend in Northern Ireland, it is too early to say whether this marks the end of the recent decline. “We will be monitoring the data closely to understand the impact of schools returning to the UK.”

ONS data, based on swabs from thousands of people, estimates that the number of cases in Scotland has dropped by 29% in the past week, with one in 40 assumed to be infected.

According to the data, the number of infections decreased by 28% in Wales, where 65 were carriers of the virus, while it increased by 36% in Northern Ireland, where one in 70 people tested positive.