Covid-19 rates falling in most – but not all – local areas of England
Covid-19 case rates have started to fall in most local areas across England, latest figures show.
In only two of the nine regions are a majority of areas recording a week-on-week rise: London and south-east England.
It is still too soon to judge the full impact on case rates of the England-wide lockdown, however.
The nationwide restrictions began on November 5, and the most recent figures are for the week ending November 18 – just 14 days into the lockdown.
Given it can take up to two weeks for Covid-19 symptoms to appear, and further time for somebody to be tested and the result to be processed, more data is needed to be certain about how and where case rates are falling.
But the latest figures suggest the numbers are heading in the right direction, though crucially not in all parts of England.
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."
Here is an overview of the latest case rates in each region, including the areas with the highest and lowest numbers.
In all instances, the figures are for the week ending November 18 and have been calculated by the PA news agency using data published by Public Health England (PHE).
South-east England
This is the region that now has the highest rates in England.
Swale is top of the list, where the rate is currently 631.7 cases per 100,000 people, up from 425.8.
Thanet also appears in England’s top five rates, where the number is currently 515.1, up from 460.8.
The rate is rising in 34 out of 67 local authority areas in south-east England.
Other areas with big jumps include Medway (up from 256.3 to 384.8) and Gravesham (up from 269.3 to 386.2).
The biggest week-on-week fall has been recorded in Oxford, where the rate has dropped from 256.5 to 152.8.
The Isle of Wight has the lowest rate in the region: 76.2, up very slightly from 74.8.
Yorkshire and the Humber
Rates are falling in almost every area of Yorkshire and the Humber – a turnaround from last week, when most areas were recording a rise.
In the latest figures, just three out of 21 areas showed an increase: Craven, North Lincolnshire and Selby.
North Lincolnshire recorded the biggest week-on-week jump in rates – but this was only a small rise, from 412.1 to 448.1.
Scarborough saw the biggest fall, down from 614.2 to 349.4.
Hull continues to have the highest rate in the region, and the second highest in the whole of England: 615.1, down from 785.3.
York has the lowest rate: 142.9, down from 185.6.
North-west England
Rates are up in only three of the 39 areas in north-west England: Carlisle, Hyndburn and South Lakeland.
Hyndburn saw the biggest rise, from 382.5 to 487.4.
This is also the highest rate in the region.
Oldham, which once had the highest rate in England, is down from 641.1 to 442.0 – the biggest week-on-week drop in the North West.
Lancaster has the lowest rate: 119.1, down from 149.3.
Liverpool continues to see a big drop in rates. Its seven-day rate as of November 18 is 205.2, down from 662.2 when it entered Tier 3 of the Government’s restrictions on October 14.
North-east England
Every one of the 12 local authority areas in north-east England recorded a fall in rates in the latest figures.
The biggest drop was in Gateshead, down from 468.2 to 320.7.
Hartlepool’s rate is 514.6 – the fifth highest in England – down from 531.7.
The lowest rate in the region is Northumberland: 274.2, down from 298.7.
East Midlands
Case rates are up in only three of the 40 local authority areas in the East Midlands, all in the south of the region: Harborough, South Northamptonshire and Wellingborough.
But rates are still very high in some parts of the East Midlands.
East Lindsey is the highest in the region, where the rate is currently 515.8, down very slightly from 517.9.
This is also the third highest rate in the whole of England.
Rutland continues to record the lowest rate in the East Midlands, which is now down from 142.8 to 122.7.
The biggest week-on-week drop was in Bolsover, down from 480.4 to 340.1.
West Midlands
Just five of the 30 local authority areas in the West Midlands recorded a rise in the latest figures: East Staffordshire, Herefordshire, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Nuneaton and Bedworth, and Wolverhampton.
Of these, Herefordshire recorded the biggest jump, up slightly from 153.0 to 165.5.
Telford and Wrekin saw the biggest fall, down from 377.5 to 274.7.
Rates are still high in some areas of the region, however.
Dudley has the highest: 505.3, down from 538.6.
Malvern Hills continues to record the lowest rate: 111.8, down very slightly from 115.6.
London
Along with south-east England, London is one of only two regions where a majority of areas have recorded a rise in the latest figures.
Of the 32 areas in London, 20 showed an increase, the biggest jumps being Havering (up from 309.4 to 386.0), Enfield (up from 175.6 to 230.4) and Redbridge (up from 249.0 to 300.4).
Havering also has the highest rate in London.
Camden has the lowest, down from 125.2 to 113.3.
The neighbouring borough of Islington has seen the biggest week-on-week drop, down from 179.0 to 145.2.
South-west England
Bristol continues to have the highest rate in south-west England, but the rate has fallen, down from 485.6 to 434.4.
A total of 20 of the 29 local authority areas in the region are now recording a drop.
Torbay had the biggest week-on-week drop, down from 226.8 to 156.3.
Teignbridge has the lowest rate: 64.1, down from 75.3.
Eastern England
Seven of the 10 lowest rates in England are in Eastern England, including the lowest of them all: Mid Suffolk, where the rate has fallen from 76.0 to 56.8.
A total of 27 of the 45 local authority areas recorded a fall in the latest figures.
The biggest drop was for Great Yarmouth, down from 238.6 to 107.7.
Luton currently has the highest rate: 293.4, up from 266.6.