Cases of coronavirus in England have jumped 47% in one week, according to new data.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) infection survey found cases “continued to rise steeply”, with an average of 51,900 new cases per day of Covid-19 in private homes between October 17 and 23.
This is up 47% from 35,200 new cases per day for the period from October 10 to 16, according to the ONS estimates.
Overall, around one in 100 people had Covid-19 over the course of the latest week.
The figures, based on 609,777 swab tests taken whether people have symptoms or not, do not include anyone staying in hospitals, care homes or other institutional settings
The highest rates are in the North West and Yorkshire and the Humber, the data showed.
Rates also remain high in the North East, but the ONS said these have now levelled off and “there is now a larger gap with the other two northern regions”.
The lowest rates are in the South East, South West and eastern England, while there has been growth in all age groups over the past two weeks.
Katherine Kent, co-head of analysis for the Covid-19 infection survey, said: “Following the expansion of ONS infection survey, we are now seeing evidence of increases in Covid-19 infections across the UK.
“In England, infections have continued to rise steeply, with increases in all regions apart from in the North East, where infections appear to have now levelled off.
“Wales and Northern Ireland have also all seen increased infections, though it is currently too early to see a certain trend in Scotland, where we have been testing for a shorter period.
“When looking at infections across different age groups, rates now seem to be steeply increasing among secondary school children whilst older teenagers and young adults continue to have the highest levels of infection.”
