Record high percentage of Central Bedfordshire PCR tests coming back as Covid positive

Amid record-breaking daily Covid infection figures in England, the proportion of PCR tests coming back positive in Central Bedfordshire is also the highest on record.

Nearly one in four people in Central Bedfordshire who took a PCR test in the run up to Christmas turned out to have Covid.

The latest Covid dashboard figures show in the week up to December 24 the figure was a record high of 24.5%, beating the previous weekly highest of 23% set just a day earlier [the rolling weekly figure is calculated daily]. Following a period of stability, Central Bedfordshire's weekly positivity rate has been steadily creeping up since being recorded at 12.4% for the week ending December 12.

Across the UK, the figures show 22.4% of people who took a PCR test in the week to December 24 got at least one positive result.