One in eight people had Covid antibodies last month, says ONS
Around one in eight people in England had coronavirus antibodies in December, according to estimates from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), meaning that they would have had the disease previously.
The estimates, which are based off sample blood tests from people aged 16 and over, show that 12.1 per cent of people in England would have tested positive for antibodies last month.
The figure rises to 16.4 per cent in London, the highest rate in the country except for Yorkshire and the Humber.
In Scotland the figure was 8.9 per cent, in Wales 9.8 per cent, and in Northern Ireland 7.8 per cent.
Having antibodies can help to prevent individuals from getting the same infection again, although the length of time for which antibodies remain is not yet known.
The new figures come as it was revealed that cases of the disease appeared to be falling in London for the first time in months.
Barking and Dagenham, which has been one of the worst-affected areas during the pandemic, saw cases fall 27 per cent over the past seven days, after recording 945 fewer infections than the previous week.
Newham, which remains the London borough with the highest infection rate, saw cases fall almost a quarter.
Just three out of 32 London boroughs currently have an infection rate higher than the 1,000 cases per 100,000 people mark, down from 17 last week.