Cases of coronavirus in England look as though they are on the up, according to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
After dropping for five weeks in a row, the percentage of people testing positive showed “early signs of a potential increase”, the ONS said on Friday, with 49,000 people thought to have had a positive result in the week up to 15 May – up nearly 9,000 on the previous week’s estimate.
The picture for the whole UK was “mixed”, with data showing cases in Wales to have remained around the same as the previous week, a decrease in Scotland, and an uncertain trend in Northern Ireland. In England, Yorkshire and the Humber was the region with the highest proportion of people testing positive at one in 520, followed by the northeast, then the southeast.
This comes as Heathrow Terminal 3 is set reopen from 1 June specifically for arrivals from “red list” countries. Currently, these passengers are having to mix with lower-risk travellers at the airport after landing in the UK.
In other travel news, European holiday destinations Spain, Greece, Italy and France look unlikely to make the UK’s travel “green list” in the next update, scheduled for 7 June, despite the justice secretary’s claim that ministers are “very keen to see as many countries as possible” on it.
Boris Johnson told MPs last night “quite a few” countries - including Malta, Fiji, Finland and various Caribbean islands - are in contention to be added to the list, reports The Daily Telegraph.
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