Coronavirus hotspots revealed: Sheffield and Slough close behind London for biggest local outbreaks
SHEFFIELD and Slough today emerged as coronavirus hotspots close behind London as they face the biggest local outbreaks.
The South Yorkshire city of Sheffield has recorded 59 cases per 100,000 people - just behind the 64 cases per 100,000 in the capital.
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Meanwhile Slough, Berkshire, has recorded 49 cases per 100,000.
New figures collated by showed the worrying trend, with Birmingham and Derby also reporting 50 and 46 cases respectively per 100,000 up to March 30.
Concerning graphs show how the number of cases have exponentially risen across the regions as the country went into lockdown in a desperate attempt to stop the spread.
It is unclear exactly why Slough and Sheffield have been so badly hit by the virus.
But Director of Public Health for Sheffield, Greg Fell, said the region's numbers could be down to increased frequency of tests in the city.
The numbers come as the UK's overall death toll hit more than 1,400 yesterday, with more than 200,000 cases overall.
Among those killed amid the coronavirus pandemic in Slough was Chloe Middleton, 21, who became one of the UK's youngest victims of the deadly bug.
The young woman was taken to Wexham Hospital but tragically died as her family begged people to take the pandemic seriously.
Meanwhile in Sheffield, Pat Midgley, 82, died on Sunday after going into coronavirus isolation.
Pat, who had been a Labour councillor in Sheffield for 33 years, was remembered as a "unique character".
And Leonard Gibson, 78, died in Sheffield's Northern General Hospital, one of the first killed in South Yorkshire.
HSBC banking director Jonathan Rutter, 57, also died at Harrogate District Hospital, North Yorks., last week.
It comes as statistics showed coronavirus fatalities across the NHS remain widely below Italy's deadly rise.
The East of England is now the only region tracking above Italy at the same stage of its outbreak.
The Office for National Statistics today revealed deaths involving coronavirus were registered in all age groups apart from those aged under 15-years-old.
The highest number of deaths were recorded in people aged over 85-years-old.
At least 40 more people died of coronavirus outside hospital in the UK, the new figures revealed.
Meanwhile, the largest number of deaths in a specific region was 44 deaths in London.
According to the latest figures, 4.4 per ent of all deaths in London were due to coroanvirus.
The UK has been in lockdown over the pandemic this week, following strict social distancing rules in an attempt to stop the spread of the virus.
And Boris Johnson has warned things will "get worse before they get better".
The PM is also expected to write to Brits, telling them that further lockdown measures could be enforced if needed.
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It comes as a top health chief warned the UK must be in full lockdown until June.
Professor Neil Ferguson said: “We’re going to have to keep these measures [the full lockdown] in place, in my view, for a significant period of time — probably until the end of May, maybe even early June. May is optimistic.”
The PM makes clear that the stay-at-home rule must be obeyed — pointing out that anybody who breaks it will face a fine.
It could mean mirroring the strict lockdown measures put in place by countries across Europe, including Spain and Italy where exercise is banned altogether.
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