More proof England's Covid outbreak has 'peaked'

The Office for National Statistics' (ONS) weekly surveillance report estimated 1.1million people were infected with the virus at any time in the week to October 30 — the equivalent of one in 50. This was approximately the same as the previous seven-day spell, bringing an end to nearly three months of rising cases which began in August. Experts say the levelling off suggests the latest wave of Covid triggered by the return of schoolchildren has 'likely' come to a natural peak, due to a combination of vaccine immunity and previous infection. But the ONS data suggests the outbreak is still as big as it was at the peak of the second wave in January and the weekly total is the third highest ever recorded, even though deaths are just a fraction of levels seen during the darkest days of the crisis.