Image source, EPA

We're going to close this live page soon but thanks for joining us. Here's a roundup of all the key events from today.

New Covid statistics

• Cases of coronavirus rose 29% across the UK in the week ending 6 July, fresh data shows

• In the latest ONS report, external, rates were: one in 19 in England - up from one in 25 the week before; one in 16 in Scotland - up from one in 17; one in 17 in Northern Ireland - up from one in 19; and one in 17 in Wales - up from one in 20
• The rise is being driven by fast-spreading sub-variants of Omicron, called BA.4 and BA.5

New Omicron subvariant

• Experts are keeping an eye on a new variant of Covid called BA.2.75, nicknamed Centaurus
• It's an Omicron subvariant but it's not yet clear whether it's one to worry about or not
• It was first spotted in India in May. Since then, at least 10 other countries, including the UK, Germany and the US, have seen some cases
• The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control has listed it as a "variant under monitoring" rather than a "variant of concern"

Unvaccinated Britons told to get a jab

• Nearly three million adults in England still haven’t come forward for a Covid vaccine, according to NHS England, and experts are urging them to rectify this amid rising cases
• Experts say the figure includes people who could get extremely ill if they were to catch the virus

Read more on this story here.

The live page writers were Jack Burgess, Sam Hancock and Thomas Mackinstosh. The editor was Jeremy Gahagan.

Michelle Roberts
Health editor, BBC News online

Some of you may be wondering what the difference is between a variant of Covid-19 and a sub-variant.

Well, a virus must replicate to survive.

As it makes copies of itself, some errors, changes or mutations can creep in because the duplication process isn't perfect.

An offspring which is similar but not an exact copy of its parent is what we call a variant or a sub-variant, depending on the genetic changes it has undergone.

Variants can behave slightly differently because of these mutations, which is why experts keep a close eye on them.

Some new mutations can make it harder for the body's immune system to recognise the virus and fight it, for example.

Omicron is actually a group of closely related variants and sub-variants that came from a common ancestor.

The BA.4 and BA.5 sub-variants of Omicron that are spreading now can infect people even if they have had Covid in the past.

This wave is so different to early in the pandemicpublished at 13:19 British Summer Time 15 July 2022

13:19 BST 15 July 2022

James Gallagher
Health and science correspondent, BBC News

The Covid waves we've had this year have infected incredible numbers of people.

Go back to January 2021 and the highest number of people infected in the ONS weekly surveys was 1.2 million.

Already this year we've had a wave cap out at 4.9 million at the end of March and now one at 3.5 million and climbing.

And yet we're seeing nowhere near the levels of severe illness.

The number needing ventilation in intensive care went above 3,700 in England alone in January 2021.

The equivalent figure now - in a much bigger wave - is just 274.

Image source, .

An estimated 107,600 people in Northern Ireland tested positive for Covid in the week ending 6 July, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has said.

The figure represents 5.86% of the population - half a percentage point higher than the previous week.

The ONS said the figure was based on the percentage of people who tested positive using a recorded PCR test.

Read more about Covid rates in Northern Ireland here.

Peter Hoskins
Business reporter, BBC News Singapore

Image source, Getty Images

Coronavirus continues to have an impact overseas, and it's been reported that China's economy contracted sharply in the second quarter of this year as widespread lockdowns hit businesses and consumers.

Gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 2.6% in the three months to the end of June from the previous quarter.

Major cities across China, including the major financial and manufacturing centre Shanghai, were put into full or partial lockdowns during this period.

This comes as the country continues to pursue its "zero-Covid" policy.

You can read more about China's shrinking economy here.

If there's lots of Covid now, will winter be really bad?published at 13:08 British Summer Time 15 July 2022

13:08 BST 15 July 2022

James Gallagher
Health and science correspondent, BBC News

We have to get the idea that Covid is a seasonal virus out of our heads.

This year we've had a wintery wave of the original Omicron, a spring wave of the Omicron sub-variant BA.2 and now a summer wave of sub-variants BA.4 and BA.5.

Remember there was a surge during the men's European Championship football tournament last summer too.

In the long run the virus might settle down to be more like flu and strike in winter.

But for now waves are being caused by fresh mutations in the virus rather than weather patterns.

So will Covid be bad this autumn or winter? Well that depends on how the virus continues to evolve and whether the next round of boosters are any good at stopping it spreading.

Of course the health service comes under intense strain every winter, so any additional pressure from Covid can only make that worse.

Konstantinos Kanatsaropoulos from Caister, Norfolk, spent two months in a coma after getting Covid.

He was discharged from hospital in January and says he had suffered organ failures and a stroke - and was now "fighting every day" for his life.

An intensive care doctor who looked after him has called for better support for people with long-term effects from the disease.

Despite a spike in cases, the number of hospital patients in England testing positive for Covid appears to be slowing down.

The rate of admissions stood at 17.9 per 100,000 people in the week ending 10 July, according to new figures from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).

This is up from 15.7 per 100,000 in the previous week - but marks the smallest rise for several weeks.

"Covid-19 case rates and hospitalisations continue to rise, although the rate of increase appears to be slowing," Dr Mary Ramsay, UKHSA director of clinical programmes, says while urging those aged 75 and over to take up the offer of a spring booster.

Covid hospital admission rates are highest in the West Midlands, according to the agency, with a rate of 24.45 per 100,000.

Image source, .

Image source, .

Covid rates in Scotland have increased for the sixth week in a row, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Data for the week ending 7 July estimated that 1 in 16 people in Scotland would have tested positive for the virus.

This was a slight increase from 1 in 17 the previous week, the ONS said.

Cases are also continuing to increase across the UK, with 1 in 19 people in England estimated to have Covid last week, while the figure was 1 in 17 in both Wales and Northern Ireland.

Read more about Covid rates in Scotland here.

Image source, Getty Images

Top symptoms that could be Covid are a sore throat or a cough, according to data from 17,500 people who said they had tested positive for the virus this week.

Other common ones reported were a headache and blocked nose.

A high temperature or fever and loss of smell or taste - ones which the NHS list high up as likely Covid symptoms - were far less common.

A hoarse voice, sneezing, tiredness and muscle aches scored higher.

The top 10 Covid symptoms, in descending order, according to the data from the Zoe App study are:

• Sore throat - reported by 58%
• Headache - 49%
• Blocked nose - 40%
• Cough no phlegm - 40%
• Runny nose - 40%
• Cough with phlegm - 37%
• Hoarse voice - 35%
• Sneezing - 32%
• Fatigue - 27%
• Muscle pains/aches - 25%

Read more on the latest Covid variant symptoms here.

Some comments to bring you from Sarah Crofts who is head of analytical outputs for the Covid-19 infection survey.

She says: "Infections are showing no signs of decreasing, with rates approaching levels last seen in March this year at the peak of the Omicron BA.2 wave.

"Rates have continued to increase across the UK and among all age groups. We will continue to closely monitor the data."

Image source, .

No sense governments will reintroduce new restrictionspublished at 12:40 British Summer Time 15 July 2022

12:40 BST 15 July 2022

Hugh Pym
BBC News Health Editor

Image source, EPA

I do not get any sense that governments in the UK are ready to impose new restrictions.

There is a political aspect to it, and businesses need to have freedom to carry on doing things, such as the hospitality sector.

But I am sure we will get more hints and stronger messages from public health authorities about mask wearing and face coverings in crowded public places on public transport.

Not telling people to do it, but just advising people to be cautious if you're seeing somebody vulnerable. That seems to be the mood at the moment.

Schools are going to be breaking up soon in England. They have already broken up in Scotland, and during school holidays there tends to be a bit of a fall off because it's less easy for the virus to transmit.

People will remember in March - there was a lot of the virus about and it is spreading quite fast now.

Image source, Reuters

As we've seen, Covid cases have been rising rapidly in the UK in recent weeks.

Despite this, nearly three million adults in England still haven’t come forward for a Covid vaccine, according to NHS England.

Experts say the figure includes some people who could get extremely sick if they were to catch the virus. Most elderly and vulnerable people have already had several protective shots.

But the parliamentary Public Accounts Committe has called for increased efforts to reduce the number of unvaccinated people.

Getting fully immunised saves lives by cutting the risk of severe Covid illness, although it cannot fully stop infections.

Read more on this story here.

Image source, .

Around 3.5 million (3,498,700) people in the UK had coronavirus in the week ending 6 July 2022, according to the latest estimates from the Office for National Statistics.

This is up about 29% from around 2.7 million the week before.

The ONS says that this is likely caused by infections compatible with Omicron variants BA.4 and BA.5.

That’s about 5.4% of the population (roughly one-in-18 people), up from roughly one-in-25 the week before.

Are we approaching the peak?published at 12:19 British Summer Time 15 July 2022

12:19 BST 15 July 2022

James Gallagher
Health and science correspondent, BBC News

It feels like an odd question to ask after another chunky rise in the number of people infected going from 2.7 million to 3.5 million.

However, there are some postive signs if you read between the lines.

Scotland has been ahead of the rest of the UK in this wave, however, study the charts and it looks like the number infected is slowing down and approaching the peak.

Meanwhile, the number being admitted to hospital with Covid in England is also slowing down - another sign we could be approaching the peak.

It's too early to know for sure, but the figures may start to look more positive in the coming weeks.

Let's break down the latest ONS coronavirus figures, external to see how severe the situation really is.

Scotland

• The number of people estimated to have tested positive for Covid in the week ending 6 July was 334,000, or one in 16
• This amounts to more than 6% of the population
• It is an increase from 312,800 in the previous week and is the highest estimate for Scotland since the start of April

England

• The number of people who tested positive for Covid in the same week was 2.8 million - one in 19
• This amounts to a little more than 5% of the population
• It is an increase from 2.2 million, or one in 25, the previous week

Wales

• The number of people estimated to have tested positive for Covid was 183,500
• This amounts to just over 6% of the population and is up from 149,700 the week before

Northern Ireland

• The number of people estimated to have tested positive for Covid was 107,600, or one in 17
• This amounts to more than 5.5% of the population and is up from 98,400 - one in 19 - the previous week

Image source, .

Some more now from the latest ONS survey.

A total of 3.5 million people in private households are estimated to have had Covid last week, up 29% from 2.7 million the previous week.

This is the highest estimate for total infections since mid-April, but is still below the record high of 4.9 million that was reached at the end of March.

Image source, .

We've just had the latest figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

It shows the rate of people testing positive for Covid has continued to rise across the UK.

According to the fresh data, about 1 in 19 people were infected in England, while in Wales about 1 in 17 people would have had coronavirus in the week ending 6 July.

Up until the same period at the start of the month in Northern Ireland the rate was about 1 in 17 and in Scotland the rate was about 1 in 16.

We'll soon have the weekly latest UK Covid data from the Office for National Statistics, external (ONS).

The studies are carefully pieced together and today's coronavirus figures will come from a random selection of tens of thousands of people taking Covid tests, regardless of whether they had symptoms.

The surveys estimate how much of the virus is around and act as a guide as to whether new regulations should be introduced.

Image source, PA Media

Covid vaccines modified to target new Covid variants could give better protection when used as a booster, the European Medicines Agency says.

Pfizer and Moderna have already developed shots to target two types of Covid - the original one that started the pandemic, plus the Omicron variant called BA.1, which caused the massive wave of infection over the winter.

Experts are looking to update the vaccine further to keep up with a virus that is changing or mutating.

The US Food and Drug Administration has recommended manufacturers change the design of their booster shots to include components tailored to combat the new BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants of Omicron that are behind rising infections now.

The UK will announce its final plans for the autumn booster Covid vaccine programme nearer the time.