Coronavirus infection rates are showing now signs of easing in England, official figures have revealed.
Data from the Office of National Statistics’ (ONS) Infection Survey show around 1 in 75 people are testing positive with Covid-19.
This means approximately 741,700 people in England have the virus.
In Scotland, the picture looks just as bleak with 1 in 80 people testing positive.
It comes after supermarket depot workers have been deemed exempt from quarantine rules as the government tries to avoid food supply issues.
The new contact testing measures starting on Friday at 15 supermarket depots will be followed by 150 depots next week, but supermarket store staff will not be exempt.
Get a daily morning politics briefing straight to your inbox. Sign up for the free Mirror Politics newsletter
(Image: PA)
Mr Eustice defended the scope of the plans, which do not include supermarket workers, as he said it would be a “significant undertaking” to include them.
When asked whether the hospitality industry could be included, he told Sky News: “The reason we’ve made a special exception for food is for very obvious reasons – we need to make sure that we maintain our food supply, we will never take risks with our food supply.”
Sir Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust, has called for people to continue wearing face masks and avoid poorly-ventilated indoor settings to stop the “pingdemic”.
We’ll be bringing you the very latest updates, pictures and video on this breaking news story.
