[ad_1]
An estimated 521,300 people in England had COVID-19 from November 22 to 28, a drop from 633,000 the week before.
The Office for National Statistics says this means that about one in 105 people in England coronavirus during the period, an improvement over the 85 seen seven days earlier.
The most recent data also shows that the percentage of people who test positive has decreased in all regions except the Northeast.
Live updates on coronavirus from the UK and around the world
Infection rates were highest in the Northeast, Northwest, and Yorkshire and The Humber.
There appears to be a drop in positivity rates among all age groups over the past week, and the rates remain the highest among children of secondary school age.
The positivity rate is the percentage of people who tested positive for COVID-19 at a given time.
During the week of November 22-28, ONS estimated that there were 4.71 new COVID infections for every 10,000 people per day in England, which is equivalent to around 25,700 new cases per day.
The incidence rate has decreased in recent weeks.
Data from the most recent week shows that the number of positive cases in Wales is no longer declining, with an estimated 18,100 cases, meaning that one in 170 people is infected.
This is a slight increase from an estimated 16,400 people for the November 15-21 period, or 0.54% of the population.
The latest data comes when the Prime Minister of Wales, Mark Drakeford, said that the situation in the country remains “very serious”.
He said Wales was experiencing an “unmistakable increase in the coronavirus once again” following the reduction in cases since its 17-day firewall lockdown that ended on 9 November.
In Northern Ireland, positivity rates peaked in mid-October and has continued to decline in the most recent week.
An estimated 9,500 people in Northern Ireland contracted the virus in the week starting November 22, which is equivalent to one in 190 people.
There are also early signs that the positivity rate in Scotland has started to decline, with an estimated 40,900 cases this week, meaning that around one in 130 people tested positive.
During the most recent week of the study, positivity rates greater than 2.5% can be seen in areas of Yorkshire and The Humber and the North West, as shown in the chart below.
The lowest rates can be seen in areas of the south east, south west and east of England.
By modeling the level of infection between different age groups in England, the ONS said rates remain highest among secondary school-age children (school years 7 to 11) and young adults (school year 12 to 24 years ).
However, the rates are estimated to be declining in all age groups.
