The number of people in the UK infected with coronavirus is falling, says the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
About 4.4 million people had the virus in their bodies in the week up to April 9, down from nearly 4.9 million the week before.
That’s about one in 15 people testing positive for the virus.
The study, which uses its own testing, gives the clearest indication of the virus’s spread since free testing ended in England.
It tests thousands of people at random—whether or not they have symptoms—to estimate how many viruses there are in the country.
Despite the ONS recording a 10% drop, the number of infected people remains very high.
The BA.2 form of the Omicron variant helped push up the number of people infected with the virus to record levels in recent weeks and is only now starting to decline.
Sarah Crofts, from the ONS, said: “Across most parts of the UK, infections have thankfully begun to decrease.
“It is too early to say if we have passed the peak of infections, and infections overall remain high.”