Three islands are now the only areas left in the UK with Covid-19 levels below the government’s own threshold for quarantining overseas travellers.
Brits visiting countries with more than 20 cases per 100,000 people over a seven-day average are required to quarantine for 14 days upon their return.
Yet only a handful of places across the UK itself have infection numbers that would meet those criteria:
- Isle of Wight – 12.0
- Shetland Islands – 0
- Orkney Islands – 0
At the start of this week, nine areas met the threshold. Since then, regions including Anglesey and Pembrokeshire in Wales, and Herefordshire and Swindon in England, have edged over the 20 mark.
Even the Isle of Wight, which was on 9.9 infections per 100,000 a few days ago, has now reached 12.0.
The areas now below a rate of 20 per 100,000 cover just 0.3% of the entire UK population: about 187,000 out of 66.7m.
The official number of cases in parts of England has soared yesterday after a computer glitch in the UK’s Test and Trace system that had been hiding rates in areas such as Manchester, Leeds and Newcastle upon Tyne – and a week of high daily positive tests, culminating in more than 17,000 on Thursday.
The average number of cases per 100,000 in England is now an eye-watering 123.5.
Nottingham has the highest rate, with 661.2 cases per 100,000 – even though it is not yet in any kind of local lockdown.
Knowsley has the second highest rate, with 621.8 cases per 100,000. Liverpool is on 561.6.
The director of public health for Nottingham, Alison Challenger, said on Tuesday that current restrictions in the city were “no longer enough to stop the spread of the virus”.
In Scotland (national average 94.3), the worst affected areas are Greater Glasgow and Clyde, with 165.2 cases per 100,000, and Lanarkshire on 154.1.
In Northern Ireland (national average 248.4), the Derry City and Strabane region is on 704.9 cases, making it the most infected place in the UK.
In Wales (national average 95.1 cases per 100,000), Rhondda Cynon Taff is worst, on 176.6 cases per 100,000. All figures are cumulative for the last seven days.