Covid surge: New figures reveal 30 percent jump in cases across UK caused by omicron variants BA.4 and BA.5

There has been a 32% rise in Covid-19 across the UK last week, according to the latest figures released.

The data has revealed one in 18 people in Scotland are estimated to have had the virus in the week starting from June 27.

The number of people thought to have had coronavirus is up from 1.7m people the previous week to almost 2.3m cases across the UK – the highest estimate for total infections since late April.

But it is still below the record high of 4.9m which was reached at the end of March.

The Office for National Statistics has said that omicron variants BA.4 and BA.5 are likely behind the latest surge in cases.

Covid-19 continues to be most prevalent in Scotland, where 288,200 people likely to tested positive for the virus last week – which is up from 250,700, or one in 20.

Comparatively, one in 30 are thought to have had the infection last week in England, with one in 45 in Wales and one in 30 in Northern Ireland.

The data shows that on June 26 the total number of deaths recorded since the start of the pandemic in March 2020 had reached 14,953.

Sarah Crofts, ONS head of analytical outputs for the Covid-19 infection survey, said: “Across the UK we’ve seen a continued increase of over half a million infections, likely caused by the growth of BA.4 and BA.5 variants.

“This rise is seen across all ages, countries and regions of England.

“We will continue to monitor the data closely to see if this growth continues in the coming weeks.”