COVID cases fall but numbers level off in recent days

March 18, 2021

This article has not been updated recently

According to the ZOE COVID Symptom Study UK Infection Survey figures, there are currently 4470 daily new symptomatic cases of COVID in the UK on average, based on swab tests data from up to five days ago [*]. This compares to 5,494 cases a week ago a decrease of 18% from last week. That’s down 93% from a peak of 69,000 at the beginning of the year. In terms of prevalence, on average 1 in 823 people in the UK currently have symptomatic COVID. (Full table of regional results below).

Other key findings from ZOE COVID Symptom Study UK Infection Survey this week: 

  • The UK R value is close to 0.8
  • Regional R values are: England, 0.8, Wales, 1.0, Scotland, 1.0 (full table of R values below). 
  • The average rate of prevalence for symptomatic disease across the UK is 1 in 823
  • With schools across the UK now open, there is 1 in 1369 school-aged children with symptomatic COVID
  • ZOE has found no link found between COVID vaccination and risk of blood clots

The ZOE COVID Symptom Study UK Infection Survey figures are based on around one million weekly reporters and the proportion of newly symptomatic users who have positive swab tests. The latest survey figures were based on data from 6,565 recent swab tests done between 07 March to 14 March 2021.

The app is delivered in collaboration with King’s Health Partners, an Academic Health Sciences Centre based in South East London.

Tim Spector OBE, lead scientist on the ZOE COVID Symptom Study app and Professor of Genetic Epidemiology at King’s College London, comments on the latest data:
“After steady falls at the beginning of the week, we've seen cases levelling off in recent days, especially in Scotland, Wales and the North-East of England. This is to be expected after reopening schools across the country and is no reason to worry. We’re keeping a close eye on cases in school-aged children and so far there’s nothing alarming about the data. I believe we'll see case numbers holding steady for a little while before cases drop again.”


Incidence / Daily new symptomatic cases regional breakdown [*]


A graph comparing all surveillance surveys (ONS, REACT-1 & CSS) 

The ZOE COVID Symptom Study UK Infection Survey results over time for the UK


Table of R Values

Map of UK prevalence figures


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