YOU'RE most likely to catch Covid while going to the shops, experts have warned as they released a list of the most contagious activities.

A Government-led study based on the daily activities of 10,000 people found outdoor sports was the second highest spreader after shopping.

SAGE's Virus Watch Study found this could be due to "social activities" linked to sports as well as the physical activity itself.

The next most infectious place to visit are pubs and restaurants, followed by using public transport.

It comes as a string of hugely positive studies show Omicron IS milder than other strains, with the first official UK report revealing the risk of hospitalisation is 50 to 70 per cent lower than with Delta.

Covid booster jabs protect against Omicron and offer the best chance to get through the pandemic, health officials have repeatedly said.

The Sun's Jabs Army campaign is helping get the vital extra vaccines in Brits' arms to ward off the need for any new restrictions.

But it's doing the weekly shop that carries the highest chance of catching Covid proving, with shoppers 2.2 times more likely to fall ill.

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Using transport or visiting hospitality venues meant people were 1.3 times as likely to test positive for Covid between September and November last year.

Meanwhile, outdoor sports carried a risk level of 1.36 per cent, the study – which is yet to be peer reviewed – claimed.

It also found that people who had to leave their home for work were more likely to contract Covid than those who did not.

Researchers weren't able to provide reliable data on the risks of going to the cinema, concerts, nightclubs or sports events.

Covid-spreading hotspots

A SAGE study has listed the activities most likely to lead people to catch Covid and they are:

• Shopping – 2.18 per cent
• Playing a sport outdoors – 1.36 per cent
• Using a bus – 1.31 per cent
• Eating at a restaurant or cafe – 1.29 per cent
• Using public transport more than once a week – 1.28 per cent
• Going to a pub, bar or club – 1.28 per cent
• Going to a party – 1.27 per cent
• Going to a gym or indoor sports – 1.27 per cent
• Leaving home for work – 1.2 per cent
• Using a taxi – 1.19 per cent
• Using an overground train or tram – 1.18 per cent

The same went for visiting the local beautician, hairdresser, or barber.

Data for the study was collected before Omicron became the dominant variant in the UK.

It comes as Prime Minister Boris Johnson declared Britain would "get through this wave" without further restrictions.

In early signs the Omicron storm may be subsiding, UK Covid cases fell for the second day in a row.

The number of people being taken to hospital with Covid in London — Omicron ground zero — also tumbled. 

And the number of people with the virus and on ventilation in hospitals in England also fell for the second day on the trot.

Hopes are growing inside Downing Street that all Plan B curbs will be ditched by the end of the month and Britain can get back on the road to normality.

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