South Tyneside still among five worst coronavirus blackspots in England

But the newest rolling seven-day infection figures show a slight improvement on yesterday’s.

Figures published today, Friday, September 4, show new cases for the week ending Tuesday, September 1, for every local authority area in England.

The figures are based on tests carried out in laboratories (pillar one of the Government's testing programme) and in the wider community (pillar two).They show South Tyneside had 76 new cases from last Tuesday to this, the equivalent of an infection rate of 50.3. That represents a sharp rise on the 19.9 figure for the previous seven days, but is slightly down on the 51.7 recorded between Monday, September 24, and September 31.Bolton, with 265 new cases giving it the equivalent of 92.2 per 100,000 people, remains the worst local authority in England for new cases, but Rossendale with a rate of 71.3 has overtaken Pendle, where the rate is 69.5.Bradford is the fourth worst council in the country for new cases, with a rate of 63.2 and 341 new cases.

The news comes as South Tyneside is added to Public Health England’s watchlist as an area of concern, meaning local lockdown restrictions could be imminent if infection rates continue to rise.

A number of steps have already been taken to curb the spread of the virus, including asking care homes to suspend visits to residents to protect the most vulnerable and spot checks at pubs and restaurants.

Director of Public Health Tom Hall said: “We are working with our partners to tackle this spike in cases.

“However now is the time for every person and business in the Borough to take heed of the warnings and follow the simple measures to avoid more drastic restrictions. Nobody wants to see further restrictions but if the case numbers are not brought under control then additional measures will be considered.

South Tyneside has the highest case rate in the North East ahead of Middlesbrough which has a rate of 34.0.

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