17 areas now Covid hotspots in UK cases as surge 53% in a week
Coronavirus cases in the UK have surged by 53% in a week as 17 areas now have infection rates above 100 per 100,000 people, new data shows.
The government’s latest Covid-19 figures, released on Monday demonstrate the continued spread of the more transmissible Indian variant, which has been renamed the "Delta" variant by the World Health Organization.
In the seven days up to Monday, there were 35,796 cases reported in the UK.
This is an increase of 12,378 (52.9%) from the number reported the week before - ending May 31.
Meanwhile, 17 areas have now emerged as hotspots including Bolton, Manchester and Glasgow City. A full list of those areas can be viewed at the bottom of this page.
The latest government figures also shows that 28 areas have a case rate of more than 100 per 100,000.
But the case rate is also above 200 in five areas Bolton, Rossendale, Hyndburn, Burnley and Blackburn with Darwin, which has seen the case rate soar to above 500.
In the seven days up to Friday, the latest period for which figures are available, Blackburn with Darwen had the UK's highest case rate of 526.4 per 100,000.
In 108 areas of the UK, the case rate also doubled in a week although some of these places are still seeing very low numbers.
Ultimately, the coronavirus rate rose in 281 UK areas out of 380, showing how the virus is spreading.
The map below shows where cases are rising and falling with the darker the red indicating the higher the rise.
The statistics will prompt further doubts over Boris Johnson's plan to end England's lockdown on 21 June, though the prime minister insisted on Wednesday that this can still happen.
The state of infection numbers and variants of concern are two of the government’s “four tests” when considering each stage of unlocking. Some senior advisers have this week called for the end of lockdown to be delayed.
Johnson is set to make a final decision on 14 June.
Here are the 17 UK areas with more than 100 coronavirus cases per 100,000 people*
Blackburn with Darwen: 516.4 cases per 100,000
Bolton: 319.6
Rossendale: 285.4
Hyndburn: 244.3
Burnley: 205.8
Ribble Valley: 197.1
Manchester: 189.6
South Ribble: 177.8
Salford: 175.8
Bury: 174.4
Preston 170.5
East Renfrewshire
South Ayrshire: 158.1
Stockport: 146.2
Glasgow City: 143.3
Dundee City: 140.6
Bedford: 137.9
*figures cover the seven days up to 7 June
