The 16 areas where Covid cases are still on the rise – is yours on the list?
COVID-19 infections are still rising in 16 areas in England and this interactive map reveals if your local authority is on the list.
Official data from Public Health England (PHE) states that cases have fallen in 95 per cent of areas (298).
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The latest data from PHE comes as a major study revealed that infections have dropped two thirds since January.
Scientists hailed the plummeting cases as “really encouraging” yesterday, but warned pressure on hospitals must ease before we unlock the country.
Britain’s biggest virus infection survey found the R rate is down to 0.7, even as low as 0.6 in London.
The React study, by Imperial College London, carried out swab tests on 85,000 people across England between February 6 and 13.
They revealed all regions of England have seen a fall in cases - with London, the South East and West Midlands seeing the biggest dip.
Around 52 people per 10,000 are testing positive for the virus now, which is similar to the rates we saw in September last year.
Infections are halving every 15 days - which is good news for the Prime Minister as he gets ready to reveal the roadmap to get us out of lockdown.
As the React study states infections have fallen, the PHE data says they are still rising in 16 areas.
Newark and Sherwood in Nottinghamshire has jumped from 212.4 infections per 100,000 to 245.1 in the seven days up to February 13.
A new mass testing site has this morning opened in the area for people who aren't displaying any symptoms.
Copeland in Cumbria has also jumped from 171.6 to 239.1 and a spokesperson for the local council this week said that the increase was mainly down to a few small outbreaks that were being "closely monitored and contained".
Despite this Copeland Borough Council's Carl Walmsley suspected that people in the area had "let their guard down".
He said: "I cannot stress enough that this is nowhere near over, we need to remain vigilant and follow guidelines at all times."
Infections have also increased in Rotherham in South Yorkshire, from 218.9 to 220.8.
Cases in Rushcliffe in Nottinghamshire, have gone from 187.1 to 213.1.
Also in the Midlands and North West Leicestershire has jumped from 191.1 to 205.6.
Since the start of the pandemic the area has witnessed 5,220 cases.
Bury in Greater Manchester has also seen a rise in infections from 202.1 to 202.6.
'CONCERNING INCREASE'
The local health director has branded the increase in cases as "concerning".
Bury's Director of Public Health, Lesley Jones has put the increase down to the fact that the town has more essential workers than most.
Over 95 per cent of cases in Bury are also down to the Kent variant.
Ms Jones added: "It is difficult to pinpoint exactly why this is happening, but our data would suggest that this may be due to a differential impact of the lockdown measures within the population.
"For example, the higher rates are concentrated within those areas where people are more likely to still need to go to out to work as opposed to being able to work from home."
Darlington in County Durham has also seen a rise in infections, going from 191 to 194.8 in the last seven days.
Another area where cases are on the up is Tameside in Greater Manchester, where cases have climbed from 184.1 to 192.9.
This means that in the last seven days the area has seen 437 new cases - which is 40 more than the previous week.
Cases have also risen in Boston in Lincolnshire, going from 176.7 to 188.1, as well as in Harborough in Leicestershire, where cases have gone from 168.4 per 100,000 to 183.4.
West Lindsey in Lincolnshire has seen cases go from 92 to 133.8 in the last week.
Hambleton in North Yorkshire has gone from 124.5 to 131 and frontline social care workers in the area were urged to sign up to get the vaccine in order to stop the transmission of Covid-19.
Elsewhere and Lincoln has also seen an increase in cases from 100.7 to 117.8.
Despite a rise in cases in the area, it was reported today that over two thirds of Covid patients across Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust have been discharged since the start of the pandemic.
South Lakeland in Cumbria has also witnessed an increase in cases from 75.2 to 91.4.
Exeter has jumped from 38.1 to 72.3 and East Devon has also climbed from 56.7 to 63.6.
RISE IN INFECTIONS
While the 16 areas above have all seen a rise in infection rates in the last seven days, the most infected areas in the country have seen a drop in cases.
Corby in Northamptonshire has the highest rate in England, with 228 new cases recorded in the seven days to February 13 - the equivalent of 315.7 cases per 100,000 people.
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This is down from 437.6 cases per 100,000 people in the seven days to February 6.
Middlesbrough has the second highest rate, down from 371.0 to 307.8, with 434 new cases.
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St Helens in Merseyside is in third place, down from 352.2 to 283.5, with 512 new cases.
Just one are in England has remained static - with North Devon remaining at 25.7.