National Statistical

Understanding how COVID-19 is spreading across the population is crucial to controlling the pandemic and its effects. A large study jointly led by the ONS, in partnership with the Universities of Oxford and Manchester, Public Health England and Wellcome Trust, is tracking infections within a representative sample of people of all ages across England. As the initial estimates are released, Pete Benton, Director of Population and Public Policy Operations, explains what they mean, why there are important and how to compare this survey to other COVID-19 estimates.

The developing Covid-19 pandemic has led to new challenges for us, such as how to collect information with many shops closed, businesses ceasing to trade and no interviewers to knock on doors. The situation continues to evolve, and even now, the economy is operating very differently to how it did just a matter of weeks ago. Jonathan Athow explains how we are addressing some of the known – and the new – challenges, including highlighting how we will be collecting and publishing some of our key indicators in the weeks and months ahead.