COVID-19: Case rates rise in two-thirds of all local areas in England
New Public Health England data shows a week-on-week rise in coronavirus rates in 208 out of 315 local authority areas.
Monday 14 December 2020 02:09, UK
COVID-19 case rates are rising in two-thirds of all local areas in England, according to the latest data.
A week-on-week increase in coronavirus rates was recorded in 208 out of 315 local authority areas in the seven days to 9 December, Public Health England figures showed.
This includes every borough of London, 39 out of the 45 local areas in Eastern England and 58 of the 67 local areas in South East England.
Rates of coronavirus are also up in 19 of 39 areas in North West England, where rates had previously been falling.
The figures were based on tests carried out in laboratories and in the wider community, and the rate is expressed as the number of new cases per 100,000 people.
Data for the most recent four days (10 to 13 December) has been excluded as it is incomplete and does not reflect the true number of cases.
Of the 315 local areas in England, only 105 have seen a fall in COVID-19 cases, while two areas are unchanged.
Swale in Kent has the highest COVID rate in England, with 951 new cases recorded in the seven days to 9 December, which is the equivalent of 633.7 cases per 100,000 people.
This is an increase from 579.7 in the seven days to 2 December.
Another area in Kent, Medway, has the second highest rate, up from 605.6 to 613.9, with 1,710 new cases.
Meanwhile, Basildon in Essex is in third place where the rate has risen sharply from 372.9 to 613.8, with a total of 1,149 new cases.
The top 10 areas in England with the highest COVID rates are below.
From left to right, it reads: name of local authority; rate of new cases in the seven days to 9 December; number of new cases recorded in the seven days to 9 December; rate of new cases in the seven days to 2 December; number of new cases recorded in the seven days to 2 December.
- Swale - 633.7, (951), 579.7, (870)
- Medway - 613.9, (1710), 605.6, (1687)
- Basildon - 613.8, (1149), 372.9, (698)
- Dover - 518.9, (613), 314.9, (372)
- Havering - 506.3, (1314), 321.3, (834)
- Lincoln - 486.4, (483), 377.6, (375)
- Maidstone - 482.5, (829), 400.4, (688)
- Gravesham - 477.8, (511), 363.8, (389)
- Canterbury - 469.8, (777), 264.2, (437)
- Ashford - 452.2, (588), 206.9, (269)