The map reveals four new hotspots where Covid soared: how are they compared to Sheffield?

Covid-19 case rates in most parts of the UK have returned to the levels last seen about eight months ago, with new cases of coronavirus recorded in late August and early September. It is the same.

The prevalence of infection decreased by 50% from March to early May, the lowest since August.

But now, with a surge in cases in a few regions, rates have been pushed back to the levels last seen earlier this year.

Experts said the Indian variant pattern was the cause of “some concerns”, but the European Medicines Agency said that “quite confident” vaccines were effective against it. It was.

In some parts of the country, infection levels have risen significantly in recent years, and it is believed that new variants may affect this.

Infection rates in these areas have not yet reached the levels recorded at the peak of the second wave, but the latest figures indicate that local outbreaks of Covid-19 caused by a variety of factors continue. It suggests.

-Erewash: 201.1 cases per 100,000

Erewash in Derbyshire currently has the highest case rates in any part of the UK.

A total of 232 new cases were recorded in the 7 days leading up to May 7. That’s 201.1 per 100,000, up from 21.7 last week, the highest in the region since February 18.

The sharp rise in case rates was triggered by an outbreak at Wilsthorpe Academy in the town of Long Eaton, according to Dean Wallace, director of public health at the Derbyshire County Council.

“The significant outbreak of Covid-19 at the Virus Soap Academy continues to affect the number of cases in the region,” he said on Tuesday.

“The overall Covid rate in Derbyshire is relatively low, so increasing numbers can have a significant impact on local numbers. We understand that this raises concerns, but to minimize spread. We also want to reassure our residents that we continue to work closely with schools and Public Health England. “

The school remained closed last week and will be phased in again this week.

There is no evidence that the outbreak is a new or concerned variant of Covid-19, Wallace added.

– Moray: 93.9 per 100,000

Moray currently has the highest rate in Scotland, with 90 new cases of Covid-19 recorded in the seven days to May 7.

This is equivalent to 93.9 cases per 100,000 people, a slight decrease in the past few days, but a level not recorded in the region since the end of January.

Dr. Gregorsmith, Chief Medical Officer of Scotland, said the outbreak is believed to consist of 21 important networks and is occurring in a variety of situations, including schools, workplaces and large stores. I am.

He said the towns of Elgin and Keith are particularly hot spots, but they don’t seem to have spread to nearby municipalities such as Highlands and Aberdeenshire.

Genomic sequencing indicates that Moray outbreaks are composed of Covid-19 strain B117. It first appeared in Kent in late 2020 and is now the predominant variant in the UK.

“Unfortunately, there were some hospitalizations for the elderly as a result of this outbreak,” he said, adding that the demographics of those who tested positive were slightly younger than the whole.

National clinical director Jason Reach has confirmed that outbreaks have recently slowed, but authorities are still monitoring the situation.

– Bolton: 152.0 cases per 100,000

Bolton, Manchester has the second highest rate in the UK, with 437 new cases of coronavirus recorded in the seven days to May 7.

The rate jumped from 74.4 to 152.0 in a week. This is the highest since the 7 days until February 28th.

Surge testing in parts of Bolton from May 7 after the British Public Health Service (PHE) confirmed last week that it was one of the major locations for cases reclassified as a variant of Covid-19 in India. Is in progress. concern.

According to PHE, cases of Indian variants in the UK have increased from 202 to 520 as of May 7, with nearly half being associated with travel or contact with travelers. ..

The majority of cases are concentrated in two regions, northwestern England, mainly Bolton and London.

Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham told the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization that everyone over the age of 16 in Bolton, along with other parts of Manchester, “has spread to more infected communities.”

– Darwen and Blackburn: 90.2 per 100,000

This is the third highest rate in the United Kingdom, with 135 cases recorded in the seven days leading up to May 7.

The current rate of 90.2 has risen from 52.1 to the last level seen at the end of March.

Blackburn and Darwen border north of Bolton and may have been affected by the jump in the incident experienced by their neighbors.

However, surge testing has not yet been deployed within the municipality and the existence of Indian variants has not yet been confirmed.

How does this compare to Sheffield?

Shefield’s Covid-19 infection rate is higher than the national average, but appears to be stable weekly.

According to the latest data available from the Coronavirus Dashboard, there were 273 new infections this week, compared to 274 last week.

Sheffield’s infection rate is now 46.7, compared to 46.8 last week.

This means that Sheffield has the 15th lowest infection rate in the country, behind other Yorkshire regions such as Doncaster (46.8), Wakefield (47.4), Leeds (47.4) and Barnsley (51.8). ..