One in 60 people in England estimated to be infected with COVID-19: Britain's ONS

According to Britain's Office for National Statistics (ONS), one in 60 people in England would test positive for coronavirus in the week ending November 27 with an estimated 898,900 people in England who have the virus.

ONS said the percentage of people who had contacted the virus in England had increased. In Wales, the agency said the trends were uncertain while claiming that 1 in 45 people were estimated to be infected with a similar number in Northern Ireland and 1 in 65 in Scotland.

"Hospital admissions decreased or remained similar in all English regions, except the southeast where the rate increased in the week ending 28 November 2021," it added.

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The agency said the largest decrease was seen in the west Midlands and east of England as Covid rates remained "lowest in those aged between 5 and 14 years and highest in those aged 85 years and over."

The development comes as Britain aimed to administer booster jabs to all adults over 18 over the next two months over the Omicron threat.

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Britain is one of the worst countries hit with the virus with over 145,000 fatalities and over 10 million COVID-19 cases.

Authorities had revealed that 13 Omicron variant cases have been detected in England so far with nine confirmed cases in Scotland. Health Secretary Sajid Javid conceded that the numbers would rise over the coming days.

The Johnson government had earlier announced face masks would be mandatory for people in shops including for those who took public transport even as mass testing has been ramped up in the country after the Omicron variant was discovered in the country last week.

(With inputs from Agencies)