Ministers plan for new restrictions within weeks as Covid rates in young adults hit record level

The coronavirus infection rate in young people has reached the highest for any age group since the pandemic began as the government drafts contingency plans to bring back restrictions within weeks. In the seven days before Covid restrictions were lifted, 1,154.7 infections per 100,000 people were recorded among those aged 20 to 29, according to Public Health England, with cases rising across every age group and region of the country. Weekly hospitalisations are also at their highest since early March. Officials in the Covid-19 taskforce have been drawing up proposals that could see baseline measures, such as mask-wearing, social distancing and guidance on working from home, reintroduced in England by next month.