The prevalence of Covid-19 in the UK has reached record levels. About one in 13 people are estimated to be infected with the virus in the past week, according to the latest figures from Britain's official statistics agency.
Some 4.9 million people were estimated to have the virus in the week ending March 26, up from 4.3 million recorded in the previous week, the Office for National Statistics said Friday.
The latest surge is driven by the more transmissible omicron variant BA.2, the dominant variant across the UK.
Hospitalisations and death rates are again rising, although the number of people dying with Covid-19 is still relatively low compared with earlier this year. Nonetheless, the latest estimates suggest the steep climb in new infections since late February, when British Prime Minister Boris Johnson scrapped all remaining coronavirus restrictions in England, has continued well into March.
The figures came on the same day the government ended free rapid Covid-19 tests for most people in England, under Johnson's "living with Covid" plan. People who do not have health conditions that make them more vulnerable to the virus now need to pay for tests to find out if they are infected.