Covid-19 cases have spiked by 29 per cent in just one week as experts warn about how long you should wait before returning to work after testing positive.
A total of 3,498,700 people in private homes are estimated to have had the virus in the week up to July 6 and 7 - up from 2,714,900 the previous week, according to figures published by the Office for National Statistics on Friday.
ONS adds that one in 19 people in England had the virus last week, compared to one in 17 in Wales, one in 17 in Northern Ireland and one in 16 in Scotland.
The jump is likely caused by increases in infections compatible with Omicron variants BA.4 and BA.5, experts said.
It comes as millions more Brits will be offered a Covid jab this autumn.
Professor Denis Kinane, a world-leading Immunologist and founding Scientist of Cignpost Diagnostics, told the Mirror the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 strains are able to re-infect those who have already had Covid and those who are fully vaccinated because of immune escape, meaning they have been able to overcome immunity developed for other strains.
Furthermore, those of us who have had our booster jabs in December and January will not be as protected from the virus because efficacy begins to "wane at three months" and the formula is not as "effective against emerging subvariants".
When asked why people are getting re-infected with Covid, Prof Kinane said: "With cases rising in the UK and globally, and new variants emerging, it is clear the virus is continuing to evolve and people are now getting re-infected at a rapid pace.
"This new surge of infections is being driven by the rapid growth of the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 variants, largely through super spreader events.
"Covid cases jumped 20 per cent after the Jubilee weekend and events like Glastonbury Festival and Wimbledon are enabling case numbers to spiral.
Prof Kinane also said the lack of testing has also led to re-infection and to people returning to work too soon.
He said: "Ending free testing also contributes to re-infections, as people are far less likely to be diagnosed, so they are mixing with others while unknowingly carrying the virus. This opens us up to additional risk.
"Because we are not mandated to test and isolate, social attitudes to virus hygiene are much reduced.
"Many individuals are going back to work too early and not isolating sufficiently, and are therefore increasing virus spread."
Now that free testing has ended in England, most have to pay for Covid tests.
PCRs can cost more than £50 as lateral flow tests vary in price depending on how many come in a box.
PCRs are more accurate in picking up infections than LFTs, but most of us are using LFTs to test.
Prof Kinane recommends waiting for two consecutive days of negative lateral flow tests taken six days after catching the virus before going back to work.
Prof Kinane said: "It is true that PCRs remain positive for longer, even if the virus has already disappeared, but by using the infectious history and counting days from infection, and knowing the exact viral load provided by the PCR test, we can more safely return people to work.
"An alternative is to wait for two consecutive days of negative lateral flow tests, with those two tests being taken 6 days after catching the virus."
He added: "A return to PCR tests is the most conclusive and accurate way to implement this.
"It is problematic for employers to ask employees to return to work when no testing is taking place and no prevention of workplace spread or guidance is provided.
"This is troublesome and could be more dangerous as we approach the autumn months and when new variants emerge."
