Socially-distanced meet-ups among young people appear to be an increasingly important factor in contracting coronavirus, analysis suggests.
Covid-19 test positivity rates have increased for people under 35 who had socially-distanced contact with at least six people aged between 18 and 69 over the previous week, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.
There was no evidence of increases in positive test results for older adults.
The ONS analysed the characteristics and behaviours of those who tested positive for Covid-19 between 23 July and 10 September in England.
It asked people how many people outside their own household they had socially-distanced contact with during the previous seven days.
The findings suggest that “reporting having had socially-distanced direct contact with a larger number of people appears to be an increasingly important factor in increasing positivity rates in the younger age groups”.
