Covid cases in England have peaked but a record one in 13 are still infected, a massive testing survey suggests.
Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows 4.1million people (7.6 per cent) in England had Covid in the week ending April 2.
The figure is the highest ever recorded in the country, but just 0.5 per cent higher than last week.
In the worst-hit parts of the country — Plymouth, Torbay and South Hams — up to one in 10 people were carrying the virus.
But cases are falling in older age groups, with the data showing a drop in the over-35s.
ONS bosses admitted that ‘while infections remain high’, cases ‘may no longer be increasing in some parts of the UK’.
Experts say England’s surge has been driven by the more transmissible version of Omicron, scientifically named BA. Although, ministers admit that ditching the final Covid restrictions last month also fueled the uptick.
The latest ONS figures, considered the gold-standard for monitoring infection rates, comes as daily cases have been trending downwards for two weeks.
But experts warn these are now almost meaningless because they rely entirely on people coming forward for tests, while the ONS randomly swabs hundreds of thousands of Britons every week.
The ONS figures show England recorded the highest infection rate compared to all other UK nations. The virus was second-most prevalent in Wales, where 230,800 were infected (7.6 per cent or one in 13).
In Scotland, 396,800 people were estimated to be carrying the virus (7.5 per cent or on in 13), while rates were lowest in Northern Ireland (113,900, 6.2 per cent or on in 16).
Within England, infection rates were highest in the South West, where 8.9 per cent of people were carrying the virus. Yorkshire and The Humber was the next-most infection-ridden region (8 per cent), followed by London (7.7 per cent), the North West (7.6 per cent) and the East of England (7.4 per cent).
Covid levels were below the national average in the East Midlands (7.4 per cent), South East (7.2 per cent), West Midlands (7.1 per cent) and North East (6.7 per cent).
Up to 10.4 per cent of people were carrying the virus in the worst-hit cities of Plymouth Torbay and South Hams.
But the virus was just half as prevalent in Southampton, where 5.4 per cent tested positive.
Sarah Crofts, head of analytical outputs for the ONS survey, said: ‘While infections remain high, there are early signs in our latest data that they may no longer be increasing in some parts of the UK.
‘Across English regions, there is a mixed picture in trends and we have seen a welcome decrease in Scotland.
‘However, rates in Wales continue to rise and the trend in Northern Ireland is uncertain.
‘It is too early to say if infections have peaked in England and Scotland. We will continue to monitor the data closely.’
The ONS figures also show the virus has levelled-off in the age groups omst at risk from the virus.
In the over-70s, infection rates dropped increased from 6.6 per cent in the week to April 1 to 7.1 per cent last week.
Experts this week warned rates were ‘unprecedently high’ in the cohort, which was ‘a bit of a worry’ because they are the most vulnerable group.
It comes as Britain’s daily Covid cases fell by another third yesterday.
UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) bosses logged another 47,126 positive tests, down 36.9 per cent on the 74,720 recorded last Thursday — the last day of England’s mass-swabbing regime.
Experts warn the daily figures are now almost meaningless because they rely entirely on people coming forward for tests. MPs have called for the end of the constant updates.
Despite the drop-off in cases, the number of people dying with the virus jumped 65.1 per cent in a week to 317. It was the highest total since the end of the Omicron wave on January 20 when 330 were recorded.
But the figure encompasses all people dying ‘with’ the virus rather than just those whose death was caused by it. This means large numbers could be so-called ‘incidentals’ due to the virus’s high prevalence.
Separate infection surveys using random swabbing, rather than official testing, show Britain is currently at record levels of infections.
Meanwhile, hospitalisations crept up slightly after dropping for two days in a row. The number of admissions rose 2.4 per cent to 2,274 on Sunday, the latest date data is available for. NHS bosses say the rising figures, combined with staff absences, has left hospitals in crisis mode.
Amid the rising hospitalisations, a data error caused UKHSA bosses to an extra 2,714 Covid deaths to their total on top of today’s tally of 317.
It means the total number of deaths in the UK within 28 days of a positive test now stands at 169,412.
The UK Health Security Agency said that ‘due to a data processing error, a number of people who died within 28 days of a positive Covid test were not reported in a timely manner’.
The 2,714 deaths, all of which have occurred in England this year, were ‘added retrospectively’ to the Government’s coronavirus dashboard on Wednesday evening.
The revision to the figures narrows the gap slightly between the Government’s preferred death toll, based only on people who have died within 28 days of testing positive.
The number of people who have had Covid recorded on their death certificate, which is published by the Office for National Statistics and currently stands at just over 190,000.