During a period of rapid change in the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, we recognised that the early release of data was in the public interest. Though infection rates remain high, they are not currently subject to large changes and sharp increases such as those seen at the beginning of the year.
Therefore, we will no longer publish early headline results at 2pm on Wednesdays. We will revert to publishing our full, regular bulletin on Fridays at 12pm until further notice.
During the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has published weekly figures on the latest results from the COVID-19 Infection Survey.
These figures cover the latest available estimates of the numbers and proportion of the population in the UK who would test positive for COVID-19. We regularly break the figures down by age, country and English region. They can also include additional information and characteristics, for example, new variants of the virus or people's occupation types. Since the start of 2021, we have published fortnightly estimates of antibodies by age and some other characteristics to help monitor the impact of the vaccination programme.
We will continue to monitor infection rates and will review this decision if we encounter another period of rapid change.