Newcastle upon Tyne is the new Covid-19 rate hotspot

Y O

3 years ago

Newcastle upon Tyne has become the area of England with the highest rate of new cases of Covid-19, with the North East overtaking the North West as the nation’s main coronavirus hotspot, latest figures show.

A total of 2,012 new cases of Covid-19 were recorded in Newcastle in the seven days to June 30 – the equivalent of 664.4 cases per 100,000 people.

This is up from 382.1 one week earlier, and is the highest rate for Newcastle for almost eight months, beating the peak of the second wave in January.

Not since the start of October last year, when the return of university students prompted a sharp spike in coronavirus cases, has Newcastle recorded rates this high.

Six of the top 10 highest rates in England are in north-east England – a major turnaround from just two weeks ago, when the entire top 10 were areas in north-west England.

Rates are still rising in almost all parts of the North West, however, along with nearly every local area in England, as the third wave of coronavirus cases continues to grow.

Of the 315 local authority areas in England, 312 saw a week-on-week rise in rates in the seven days to June 30, with only three seeing a fall.