COVID-19: England’s latest coronavirus hotspots revealed – as infection rates drop in most areas
Written by News on 24/11/2020
COVID-19 case rates have dropped in most areas of England, according to new figures, with falls recorded in 249 of 315 areas.
London and the South East are bucking the trend to some extent however, recording a week-on-week rise in around half of the region’s local authorities.
Swale in Kent is top of the list in the region and second nationally, according to analysis by PA news agency.
The rate in the seaside borough is 565 cases per 100,000 people (848 cases in total), up from a rate of 531 the week before.
The figures are for the seven days to 19 November and based on tests in labs and in the wider community, and published by Public Health England.
Thanet, also in Kent, is the third-worst area in terms of infection rate at 508 per 100,000 (721 in total), up from 485.5.
Hull has the highest rate in England, at 568.6, after 1,477 new cases were recorded.
However, that is an improvement on the 779.9 case rate the week before.
The areas of the country with the biggest jumps were two areas of Kent – Medway (up from 283.6 to 396.3) and Gravesham (up from 280.5 to 388.1); and Hyndburn in Lancashire (up from 386.2 to 467.7).
Given that it can take up to two weeks for COVID-19 symptoms to appear, and further time for a tested person’s result to be processed, it’s still too soon to judge the full impact of the England-wide lockdown.
But the figures suggest numbers are heading in the right direction in many – but not all – areas.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: “I am very glad to see in the data that the number of cases across the UK is clearly starting to fall. That is good news.”
The 10 areas with the highest rates* are:
Hull – 568.6 (1477), 779.9 (2026)
Swale – 565.0 (848), 531.0 (797)
Thanet – 508.0 (721), 485.5 (689)
East Lindsey – 493.2 (699), 539.1 (764)
Dudley – 484.5 (1558), 547.9 (1762)
Stoke-on-Trent – 482.1 (1236), 548.4 (1406)
Hyndburn – 467.7 (379), 386.2 (313)
Hartlepool – 460.2 (431), 582.9 (546)
Boston – 450.3 (316), 478.8 (336)
Sandwell – 447.6 (1470), 506.6 (1664)
The 10 areas with the lowest rates are:
Tendring – 71.6 (105), 58.0 (85)
Huntingdonshire – 70.2 (125), 125.9 (224)
South Hams – 67.8 (59), 103.4 (90)
Isle of Wight – 67.0 (95), 76.9 (109)
Cornwall and Isles of Scilly – 66.3 (379), 85.5 (489)
North Norfolk – 63.9 (67), 51.5 (54)
East Suffolk – 63.7 (159), 91.4 (228)
West Suffolk – 63.7 (114), 68.1 (122)
Teignbridge – 55.2 (74), 73.8 (99)
Mid Suffolk – 52.0 (54), 75.1 (78)
* First figure is the infection rate for the most recent week, second figure is the previous week. Figures in brackets are total cases.
(c) Sky News 2020: COVID-19: England’s latest coronavirus hotspots revealed – as infection rates drop in most areas
