Tracking coronavirus in the Anglia region - infection rate heading towards 700 per 100,000

More than 50,000 people in the Anglia region contracted coronavirus in the final week of December with cases up by a fifth in a week.

The number of people testing positive in the area is still surging upwards as the Prime Minister plunged the nation into a third lockdown which is likely to last until at least the middle of February.

Boris Johnson blamed the new virulent strain of the virus which is up to 70% better at spreading between people than the original strain.

The lockdown measures were introduced as the number of patients between treated for Covid-19 in hospitals across the East of England reached a new high of 3,395 - more than double the highest number at the peak of the first wave in April.

Daily positive tests for coronavirus have continued to surge in the Anglia region throughout December Credit: Data from Public Health England

Across the Anglia region there were 50,115 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the week ending 31 December. That was up from 41,155 cases in the previous week, an increase of 8,960 or 22%.

It represents an infection rate of 686.6 cases per 100,000 people in the region an increase from 563.9 the week before.

Essex is the county that still has the highest number of infections per head of population now standing 1,051.6 per 100,000 in the latest weekly figures.

The infection rate for every district in the Anglia region is listed below

The number of coronavirus cases per 100,000 people in counties in the Anglia region in the week to 31 December Credit: Data from Public Health England issued on 4 January

The NHS also reported on Monday that a further 47 hospital patients had died with coronavirus in the Anglia region in the latest 24 hour period.

During December there were 1,274 Covid deaths in hospitals in the area with 122 patients dying on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.Since the pandemic began in March, 8,687 people have died in the Anglia region in hospitals, care homes and in the community. They include people who had a positive coronavirus test or with Covid-19 mentioned on their death certificate

Weekly total of coronavirus cases in each county in the Anglia region in the week to 31 December

  • Bedfordshire - 4,426 cases - up 15% compared with the previous week

  • Cambridgeshire - 3,749 cases - up 57%

  • Essex - 19,419 cases - up 9%

  • Hertfordshire - 9,362 cases - up 19%

  • Milton Keynes - 2,341 cases - down 1%

  • Norfolk - 4,062 cases - up 61%

  • Northamptonshire - 3,590 cases - up 51%

  • Rutland - 88 cases - up 19%

  • Suffolk - 3,078 cases - up 64%

Bedfordshire is the three unitary authorities of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Luton. Essex includes Southend and Thurrock and Cambridgeshire includes Peterborough

Daily hospital admissions in the East of England are currently averaging about 300 new in-patients a day

Below is the latest update of the rolling seven-day rate of new cases of Covid-19 for every local authority area in the Anglia region.

The figures, for the seven days to Monday 28 December, are based on tests carried out in laboratories and in the wider community. The rate is expressed as the number of new cases per 100,000 people.

The list is based on Public Health England data published on Friday 1 January on the Government’s coronavirus dashboard. Data for the most recent four days (29 December to 1 January) has been excluded as it is incomplete and does not reflect the true number of cases.

The highest rate in England is in Thurrock in Essex with 2,422 new cases in a week or the equivalent of 1,389.2 cases per 100,000.   Rutland is currently recording the lowest infection rate in the Anglia region with 220.4 cases per 100,000.


Coronavirus cases per 100,000 people in each local authority area of the Anglia region in the week to Thursday 31 December (with the previous week in brackets)Thurrock - 1389.2 (1371.5) - up 1%

Broxbourne - 1302.4 (1154.4) - up 13%

Castle Point - 1302.3 (1240.4) - up 5%

Epping Forest - 1289.4 (1452.7) - down 11%

Brentwood - 1264.6 (1503.5) - down 16%

Harlow - 1251.9 (1024.5) - up 22%

Basildon - 1133.0 (1101.5) - up 3%

Southend - 1059.9 (1141.3) - down 7%

Braintree - 1028.2 (869.6) - up 18%

Rochford - 1014.1 (1085.1) - down 7%

Hertsmere - 995.1 (937.9) - up 6%

Chelmsford - 985.5 (886.3) - up 11%

Watford - 973.3 (807.6) - up 21%

Three Rivers - 906.5 (822.9) - up 10%

Maldon - 902.6 (757.8) - up 19%

Milton Keynes - 868.8 (874.4) - down 1%

Uttlesford - 758.1 (583.9) - up 30%

Stevenage - 752.5 (536.2) - up 40%

Welwyn Hatfield - 750.1 (525.8) - up 43%

Bedford - 736.9 (653.2) - up 13%

Colchester - 734.4 (414.5) - up 77%

Tendring - 733.5 (386.9) - up 90%

St Albans - 708.6 (580.0) - up 22%

Luton - 672.1 (560.4) - up 20%

East Hertfordshire - 666.5 (587.7) - up 13%

Dacorum - 659.1 (548.6) - up 20%

Northampton - 634.9 (394.5) - up 61%

Central Bedfordshire - 594.8 (525.6) - up 13%

Ipswich - 531.7 (307.5) - up 73%

South Northamptonshire - 526.0 (383.1) - up 37%

Gt Yarmouth - 522.5 (232.5) - up 125%

Babergh - 510.7 (366.2) - up 39%

Cambridge - 499.2 (276.4) - up 81%

Corby - 480.5 (221.6) - up 117%

Broadland - 468.0 (305.9) - up 53%

Daventry - 465.4 (273.4) - up 70%

South Norfolk - 457.8 (273.3) - up 68%

North Hertfordshire - 457.4 (360.9) - up 27%

Norwich - 457.4 (327.9) - up 39%

Huntingdonshire - 450.1 (219.1) - up 105%

Peterborough - 443.0 (404.4) - up 10%

King's Lynn and West Norfolk - 433.3 (286.0) - up 52%

South Cambridgeshire - 433.1 (255.2) - up 70%

Breckland - 430.1 (257.2) - up 67%

East Cambridgeshire - 401.8 (233.7) - up 72%

West Suffolk - 375.3 (252.5) - 49%

Fenland - 372.1 (209.1) - up 78%

North Norfolk - 367.2 (247.1) - up 49%

Wellingborough - 358.8 (319.9) - up 12%

Mid Suffolk - 357.1 (188.7) - up 89%

Kettering - 342.9 (243.7) - up 41%

East Suffolk - 335.5 (186.8) - up 80%

East Northamptonshire - 301.5 (239.1) - up 26%

Rutland - 220.4 (185.3) - up 19%

For the purposes of this article, the Anglia region is defined as the East of England counties of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk along with Northamptonshire and the unitary authority area of Milton Keynes