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The new figure is far higher than previous findings, according to researchers at Imperial College, reports AP.
The estimate is based on a study of 100,000 randomly selected volunteers who used home finger-prick tests to find antibodies for the virus that causes Covid-19.
London was found to have the highest infection rate at 13 percent, according to the study which covers infections through the end of June.
Black, Asian and other minority ethnic groups were two to three times more likely to have had Covid-19 than white people, it noted.
The nationwide estimate is much higher than the number of reported cases posted by Johns Hopkins University, the main reference for monitoring the disease.
As of Thursday, it listed 270,971 cases throughout England.
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