COVID-19: Infections Reach A Record High In This Country

As free universal testing for COVID-19 comes to an end in England, data show that the infection rate in the country has reached a record high.

Nearly 8% of people had the virus in the week ending March 26, based on an estimation from the Office for National Statistics, The Guardian reports. That’s about one in every 13 people, as data also show that the number of infections throughout the U.K. increased by over 600,000 compared to the week prior.

Starting April 1, all-inclusive free-of-charge testing will end as some pharmacies will now charge £2 per test.

“This virus is not going away," chief scientific advisor Sir Patrick Vallance said, as reported by the BBC. "I think there's no doubt that if you massively reduce testing across the population, precautionary behaviors are likely to decrease at the same time, and that will then lead to increased transmission.”

COVID-19 Infection Survey statistician Kara Steel said the Omicron subvariant, titled BA.2, is largely to blame for the surge in infections.

“Infection levels remain high, with the highest levels recorded in our survey seen in England and Wales and notable increases among older age groups,” she said.

The World Health Organization stated earlier this week that COVID-related deaths are on the rise worldwide, as over 45,000 deaths were reported, an increase of around 40% from the previous week.