Coronavirus cases rise 47 per cent as Whitty warns of rise in 'almost every region'
30 October 2020, 14:13 | Updated: 30 October 2020, 14:23
Coronavirus cases have risen 47% in a week with an average of 51,900 new infections now occurring each day, according to new data.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) infection survey, which looks at new cases in private homes, said this meant around one in 100 people had COVID-19 in the seven days leading up to 23 October.
These figures mark a rise of 47% from the 35,200 cases per day for the week prior.
It is also important to note the figures only account for private homes and do not include people staying in hospitals, care homes or other institutionalised settings.
They are based on 609,777 swab tests taken whether people had symptoms of the virus or not.
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According to the results, the highest rates of transmission were found in the North West and Yorkshire and the Humber - but chief medical officer Chris Whitty warned that infections were rising in "almost every region".
He added on Twitter: "We all have a role in reducing the risk of passing the virus on."
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The ONS data also found rates were high across the North East, but had levelled off, meaning "there is now a larger gap with the other two northern regions".
The South East, South West and eastern England have seen the lowest infection rates - but have still seen an increase across all age groups.
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Katherine Kent, co-head of analysis for the COVID-19 infection survey, said infections in England had continued to "rise steeply", along with further rises in Wales and Northern Ireland.
She added that it was "too early" to see a trend in Scotland, where the survey had been ongoing 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," she said.
