Covid: London hits case rate record as all regions in England see rise in infections
London saw a record rise in Covid-19 case rates as infections continue to rise in all regions and across all ages of England, according to the latest weekly surveillance report from Public Health England.
The capital's rate of new cases stood at 904.8 per 100,000 people in the seven days to January 3, up from 864.6 in the previous week.
Eastern England saw the second highest rate (737.8, up from 606.3) followed by south-east England (654.8, up from 511.2).
Yorkshire & the Humber had the lowest rate: 294.6, up from 198.1.
The highest rate is among 20 to 29 year-olds, which stood at 842.5 cases per 100,000 people in the seven days to January 3, up week-on-week from 603.6.
Among 30 to 39 year-olds the rate rose from 621.2 to 813.0, and for 40 to 49-year-olds it rose from 589.0 to 737.8.
Case rates for 10 to 19-year-olds stood at 434.8, up from 356.8.
The lowest rates were recorded among those aged four and under (193.9) and five to nine (206.0).
The UK reported a further 1,041 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of Wednesday – the highest daily reported total since April 21.
Record numbers are also currently in hospital with coronavirus, with a further 3,500 admitted in England on Monday January 4.
Boris Johnson, who was given the overwhelming backing of MPs for the latest lockdown, warned that there was now a race between the spread of the virus and the delivery of vaccines to the most vulnerable.
In total during the week of 24 – 30 December, 684,747 people who had tested positive for Covid-19 and their contacts were reached and told to self-isolate, according to the Department of Health and Social Care.
A total of 311,372 people tested positive for Covid-19 in England at least once in the week to December 30, according to the latest Test and Trace figures.