The number of new COVID-19 infections in England is continuing to fall, according to the latest estimates.

About 481,500 people had coronavirus from 29 November to 5 December – a drop from 521,300 the week before.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said this meant approximately one in 115 people in England had the virus over the period – an improvement from the one in 105 seen seven days earlier.

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The figures do not include people staying in hospitals, care homes or other institutional settings.

The proportion of people testing positive for COVID-19 is estimated to have increased in London, while there are early signs rates may have increased in eastern England, the ONS said. Rates have fallen in all other regions.

Northwest England has the highest rate with an estimated 1.3% of people in private households testing positive, followed by Yorkshire and the Humber (1.2%) and northeast England (1.1%).

Rates remain highest among secondary school-aged children (school years 7 to 11) and young adults (school year 12 to age 24), but are estimated to have fallen among young adults, 25 to 34-year-olds and 50 to 69-year-olds, and have levelled off for those aged 35 to 49 years.

Data of the most recent week shows that the number of positive cases in Wales has increased in recent weeks, with an estimated 25,600 infections.

This is a marked rise from an estimated 18,100 people for the period 22 to 28 November.

However the ONS said the results should be interpreted with caution due to the relatively small sample.

It was estimated that 7,800 people in Northern Ireland had the virus during the same seven-day period – down from 9,500 during 22 and 28 November.

There are also signs the positivity rate in Scotland has started to increase, with an estimated 43,900 cases – up from 40,900.

The newest data from the ONS comes amid a rise in COVID-19 infections across the capital, Essex and Kent.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said he was “concerned” the number of cases in those places was “rising and in many areas already high”, adding that “by far the fastest rise” is among 11 to 18-year-olds.

There are fears London could be placed in the highest Tier 3 restrictions in the run up to Christmas, something which the city’s mayor Sadiq Khan has said would be “catastrophic” for hospitality.

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