The one region where Covid infection rates are rising again

The coronavirus infection rate is falling in every region of the UK except for the South West, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The percentage of people testing positive in the South West rose from 0.91% to 1.12% in the week ending 6 February, the most recent date for which data is available.

While the ONS cautions that small movements where infection levels are low should be interpreted with caution, the figures raise questions over why infections in the region are not falling in line with the rest of the country.

Over the same time period, the percentage of people testing positive in London fell from 1.85% to 1.5%

The ONS estimates that 790,000 people tested positive for coronavirus in the week to 6 February, down from 965,000 the previous week.

Between 31 January and 6 February, an estimated one in 80 people in private households in England had Covid-19 at any one time, compared to one in 85 in Wales, one in 75 in Northern Ireland and one in 150 in Scotland.

While the figures paint an overall positive picture, the data shows the difficulties in keeping the new, more infectious variant, under control.

While overall infections dropped, the number of cases compatible with the new UK variant rose in Yorkshire and The Humber and the East Midlands.

Infections from the new variant also rose in the South West, where overall infections increased.

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