Coronavirus (COVID-19) Infection Survey, UK: 12 September 2022

In the most recent week, the percentage of people testing positive for coronavirus (COVID-19) continued to decrease in England and Wales, and the trend was uncertain in Northern Ireland and Scotland. The reference week is the week ending 28 August 2022 for England, Wales and Scotland, and the week ending 26 August 2022 for Northern Ireland.

Table 1: Estimated percentage of the population testing positive for coronavirus (COVID-19) by UK countryOfficial estimates of the percentage of the population testing positive for COVID-19 on nose and throat swabs, UK, 20 to 28 August 2022

Country	Estimatedaverage % of the population testingpositivefor COVID-19	95%credible interval		Estimated average number of people testing positive for COVID-19	95% credible interval		Estimated average ratio of the population testingpositivefor COVID-19	95% credible interval
Lower	Upper	Lower	Upper	Lower	Upper
England	1.41	1.30	1.54	770,800	706,900	838,000	1 in 70	1 in 75	1 in 65
Wales	1.04	0.70	1.46	31,500	21,200	44,200	1 in 95	1 in 140	1 in 70
NorthernIreland	2.07	1.48	2.78	38,000	27,100	50,900	1 in 50	1 in 70	1 in 35
Scotland	1.98	1.55	2.46	104,400	81,800	129,600	1 in 50	1 in 65	1 in 40

Download this table Table 1: Estimated percentage of the population testing positive for coronavirus (COVID-19) by UK country

.xls .csv

Figure 1: The percentage of people testing positive for coronavirus (COVID-19) continued to decrease across England and Wales, and the trend was uncertain in Northern Ireland and Scotland in the most recent week

Estimated percentage of the population testing positive for COVID-19 on nose and throat swabs, UK, 28 August 2021 to 28 August 2022

Embed code Embed this interactive Copy

Notes:

1. Official reported estimates are plotted at a reference point believed to be most representative of the given week.
2. Official estimates are displayed over a rolling year up to the most recent week. The full time series of our official estimates from 27 April 2020 onwards are available in our Coronavirus (COVID-19) Infection Survey datasets.
3. There is a higher degree of uncertainty in our estimates for Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland, compared with England. This is shown by wider credible intervals.
4. The reference week is 22 to 28 August 2022 for England, Wales, and Scotland, and 20 August to 26 August 2022 for Northern Ireland.

Download the data

.xlsx

About our estimates

Our headline estimates of the percentage of people testing positive in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland are the latest official estimates.

Official estimates should be used to understand the positivity rate for a single point in time and are our best and most stable estimates, used in all previous outputs. They are based on a reference day from the statistical model of the trend in rates of positive nose and throat swab results for the latest week. All estimates are subject to uncertainty given that a sample is only part of the wider population.

The modelled estimates are more suited to understanding the recent trend. This is because the model is regularly updated to include new test results and smooths the trend over time. As swabs are not necessarily analysed in date order by the laboratory, we have not yet received test results for all swabs taken on the dates included in this analysis. Therefore, caution should be taken in over-interpreting small movements in the very latest trends. These modelled estimates can be found in our Coronavirus (COVID-19) Infection Survey datasets.

Back to table of contents