YOUNG PEOPLE The researchers were presenting the latest findings of Imperial's REACT-1 prevalence survey, which showed there was a fourfold increase in infections in a month to reach 1 in 160 people in England.
The latest survey, conducted between June 24 and July 12, covers the time ahead of a peak in daily reported infections on July 17, and found that the rise was fuelled by spread in younger people.
Imperial professor Steven Riley said that 5- to 24-year-olds accounted for 50% of all infections, even though they are only 25% of the population.
Schools have now shut for summer holidays, and cases have fallen from that peak despite legal coronavirus restrictions ending on July 19. "We've shown that prior to the recent dip, young