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COVID-19 case rates have fallen in most areas of England, according to new figures, with drops recorded in 249 out of 315 areas.
However, London and the South East are offsetting the trend to some extent, registering a weekly increase in about half of the local authorities in the region.
Swale, in Kent, tops the list in the region and second nationally, according to an analysis by the PA news agency.
The rate in the coastal district is 565 cases per 100,000 people (848 cases in total), compared to a rate of 531 the previous week.
Figures are for the seven days through November 19 and are based on laboratory and community testing, and published by Public Health England.
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Thanet, also in Kent, is the third worst area in terms of infection rate at 508 per 100,000 (721 total), down from 485.5.
Hull has the highest rate in England at 568.6, after 1,477 new cases were recorded.
However, that’s an improvement over the 779.9 case rate the week before.
The areas of the country with the largest jumps were two areas of Kent: Medway (from 283.6 to 396.3) and Gravesham (from 280.5 to 388.1); and Hyndburn in Lancashire (386.2 to 467.7).
Since it can take up to two weeks to COVID-19 For symptoms to appear, and longer for a tested person’s result to be processed, it is still too early to judge the full impact of the blockade across England.
But the numbers suggest that the numbers are heading in the right direction in many areas, but not all.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: “I am very happy to see from the data that the number of cases in the UK is starting to drop sharply. That is good news.”
The 10 areas with the highest rates * are:
Helmet – 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:
Tender – 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)
Middle Suffolk – 52.0 (54), 75.1 (78)
* The first figure is the infection rate for the most recent week, the second figure is the previous week. Figures in parentheses are total cases.
