UK Covid hotspots in your area as infections appear to peak

Virus remains most prevalent in Northern Ireland, where one in 16 people were estimated to have been infected last week

A total of 3.2 million people in private households are estimated to have had Covid in the week to 20 July.

This was down by 16 per cent from 3.8 million in the previous week, the first time in two months that total infections have shown a week-on-week fall.

The updated figures from the Office for National Statistics suggested the latest wave of infections in the UK may have peaked, though rates still remain high.

What are the infection figures by UK countries?

Some 2.6 million people in England were likely to have tested positive for coronavirus in the week to 20 July, the equivalent of around one in 20, the ONS said.

This is down from 3.1 million, or one in 17, a week earlier.

In Scotland, 272,000 people were estimated to have had Covid-19 in the most recent week, or around one in 19. This is down from 340,900, or one in 15.

Wales has seen infections fall to 156,200, or one in 19 people, down from 183,200, or one in 17.

Northern Ireland is the only UK nation to have seen a week-on-week rise in prevalence, though the ONS describes the trend as "uncertain".

Infections here have increased to an estimated 113,400 people, or one in 16, up from 88,400, or one in 20.

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Where are the Covid hotspots in England?

The percentage of people testing positive for coronavirus decreased in all regions of England except in the northeast, where the trend was uncertain.

The northwest has the highest percentage of people testing positive, at 5.4 per cent in the week ending 20 July.

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What variants are circulating?

Since the end of June 2022, the majority of Covid-19 infections in the UK have been Omicron variants BA.4 or BA.5, with BA.5 comprising 77.7 per cent and BA.4 comprising 17.2 per cent of all sequenced infections in the week ending 17 July 2022, the ONS said.