The worst-hit Covid hotspots in the UK
New data reveals a huge number of Covid infections in the UK following Christmas mixing – but which parts of the country have been the hardest hit?
The Zoe Covid Symptom Study estimates that there are almost 70,000 new symptomatic cases daily, an increase from 55,000 a week prior. Scientists now think that one in 42 people have symptomatic Covid in London. Following the Capital is one in 53 in Essex, and one in 72 in Kent.
On the other hand, the areas in the UK with the lowest Covid statistics are currently: Devon, the Humber, and Somerset & Bath and North East Somerset. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) however estimates that one in 50 people in England have Covid – rising to one in 30 in London. The ONS figures include people who are asymptomatic.
Professor of Genetic Epidemiology at King’s College London, Tim Spector OBE, said: “The UK is now worryingly at 70,000 new daily cases and around 800,000 infected individuals, and the worst hit areas continue to be Wales, London and the South East.
Our ZOE survey data is the most reliable source of the changing rates of infection over the holiday fortnight. 1 in 42 people in London has symptomatic COVID now, so those living in the capital must take care. The good news is that we are now seeing new cases in London coming down slightly. These figures are from the 3rd of January suggesting numbers had started to fall, just before the announcement of the English National lockdown.”
Current estimates dictate that 57,157 symptomatic cases occur each day in England, 5,246 in Scotland, 5,770 in Wales and 1,785 in Northern Ireland. Experts predict that there are 16,813 new daily cases in London, 9,059 cases in the South East, 7,856 in the East, 7,403 in the Midlands, 5,950 in the North East and Yorkshire, 5,228 in the North West and 3,464 cases a day in the South West.
The UK’s R rate is 1.2 as it is 1.1 in England, 1.0 in Wales, and 1.3 in Scotland. Department of Health data reveals that 400,640 people have tested positive for Covid in the last week which is an increase of a third.
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