Supermarkets are the most common places that people visited in the days leading up to a positive coronavirus test, new data has indicated.
Public Health England retraced the steps and analysed the contacts of the 128,808 people using the NHS Test and Trace app to find where they had been.
All had tested positive for Covid-19 between November 9 and November 15, Sky News reports.
Supermarkets have remained open throughout both national lockdowns.
Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, said: "Supermarkets are one of the very few places that people can visit during lockdown so it is unsurprising that they feature strongly when people are asked where they have visited.
"Retailers continue to follow all safety guidance to make their premises COVID-secure."
The second most common location reported by those who tested positive for Covid-19 were secondary schools, followed by primary schools, and then hospitals, and then care homes.
People who tested positive before showing any symptoms were most likely to have gone shopping, attended a childcare educational setting or had been out for a meal.
In total approximately 9,789 common locations were reported:
- Supermarket - 18.3%
- Secondary school - 12.7%
- Primary school - 10.1%
- Hospital - 3.6%
- Care home - 2.8%
- College - 2.4%
- Warehouse - 2.2%
- Nursery preschool - 1.8%
- Pub or bar - 1.6%
- Hospitality - 1.5%
- University - 1.4%
- Manufacture engineering - 1.4%
- Household fewer than five - 1.2%
- General practice - 1.1%
- Gym - 1.1%
- Restaurant or cafe - 1.0%
* NOTE: A previous version of this article suggested the data showed where people had caught the virus. It doesn't, it only shows where people who later tested positive had visited.
