South Tyneside sees third highest weekly Covid case rise in England

The latest Government figures cover every local authority area in England for the seven days to June 27 and are based on the number of people who have tested positive for Covid-19 in either a lab-reported or rapid lateral flow test.

Data for the most recent four days (June 28-July 1) has been excluded as it is incomplete and does not reflect the true number of cases. The list has been calculated by the PA news agency based on Public Health England data published on July 1 on the Government’s coronavirus dashboard.

South Tyneside recorded 569 new cases in the period covered, the equivalent of 376.9 per 100,000. That was a rise from 226 new cases in the previous seven days, a rate of 149.7 per 100,000.

Across England, only Tamworth, up from 80.8 to 445.9 and Oxford, rising from 74.8 to 340.4, have seen steeper rises in their weekly count of new cases.

South Tyneside is one of three North East local authority areas in the top five. Gateshead, with a rise from 167.3 to 391.5 per 100,000, is fourth and Newcastle, which saw the weekly rate jump from 306.1 to 519.8, is fifth.

Of the 315 local areas in England, 306 (97%) have seen an increase in rates, just eight (3%) have seen a fall and one is unchanged.

Hyndburn in Lancashire continues to have the highest rate, with 493 new cases in the seven days to June 27 – the equivalent of 608.3 cases per 100,000 people, up from 444.2 in the seven days to June 20.

Newcastle has the second highest rate, up from 306.1 to 519.8, with 1,574 new cases.

Blackburn with Darwen in Lancashire has the third highest rate, down slightly from 515.0 to 503.7, with 754 new cases.

The weekly case rate has risen sharply across the entire North East. North Tyneside saw the rate per 100,000 jump from 266.9 to 468.9; County Durham from 218.5 to 428.6, Sunderland from 163.1 to 363.3, and Hartlepool from 66.2 to 236.0 per 100,000.

Support your Gazette and become a subscriber today. Enjoy unlimited access to all of our news and sport, see fewer ads, experience faster load times, test your brain with daily puzzles and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. The Shields Gazette has been on South Tyneside since 1849, and your support means we can continue telling your stories for generations to come. Click here to subscribe.