Is YOUR town at risk of a local lockdown? Officials release interactive map that shows how many new Covid-19 cases have been diagnosed in every postcode England during the past week
Health bosses have today released an interactive map breaking down new coronavirus cases by postcode in an effort to keep a lid on local outbreaks.
The map of England, which will be updated each week, paints a clear picture showing the Covid-19 crisis in cities, towns and even small villages being hit hard by the virus.
Data showed Colwall, Cradley and Wellington Heath in Herefordshire was the worst-hit place in England last week, recording 68 new cases between July 6 and 12.
The area is home to vegetable producer A S Green and Co, a farm on the outskirts of Malvern which was locked down because of an outbreak. Ninety-three crop-pickers have now tested positive for the infection.
And Department of Health data revealed the next four worst-hit middle super output areas — small geographical areas used for statistics — were all in Leicester.
Meanwhile new data from Public Health England today revealed huge spikes in Pendle, Lancs, Herefordshire, as well as East Staffordshire.
It comes as Matt Hancock today declared Leicester must remain in lockdown except for its schools and nurseries, which will be allowed to reopen from next Friday, July 24.
The city has now been under stricter rules than the rest of England for two weeks and it must mostly remain so for another fortnight, the Health Secretary announced in an urgent statement to the House of Commons.
He said the coronavirus infection rate in the city is still too high for lockdown to be lifted, claiming it has dropped to 119 new cases per 100,000 people in the past week.
Mr Hancock revealed Leicester will stay sealed off and the city's 330,000 residents must still avoid non-essential travel out of the area, stick rigorously to social distancing rules and not enter other people's homes.
In other coronavirus developments in Britain today:
- The UK, US and Canada accused Russia of trying to steal coronavirus vaccine research by sanctioning 'despicable' cyber attacks against medical organisations and universities;
- Britain announced just 66 more coronavirus deaths — meaning the daily average number of fatalities has now dropped to the lowest level since March;
- NHS Test and Trace is still failing to find a more than a fifth of patients who test positive for Covid-19 — despite launching almost two months ago;
- The number of people on the payroll has plunged by 650,000 since UK's coronavirus chaos erupted as shock data revealed 2.6million are now on benefits;
- Figures revealed the stark divide between the fortunes of the public and private sectors, with public sector pay surging during the crisis but incomes plunging for private workers;
- Pharmacists will be able to give out Covid-19 jabs to speed up a nation-wide roll out when one is eventually approved, Health Secretary Matt Hancock revealed.
Pressure had been mounting on the Government to be more transparent about rolling Covid-19 data in local areas, to prevent other towns and cities being hit by local lockdowns.
It was accused of not sharing the data quickly enough with public health officials in Leicester, which was forced to revert to lockdown on June after a spike in cases.
The public are able to access the interactive map themselves to gain insight into Covid-19 cases near their home. But it is not possible to identify individuals by name and address.
Local public health bosses in each region will also be given positive test data and contact tracing figures each day after mounting pressure on officials to provide more data intelligence.
Leicester mayor Sir Peter Soulsby has been fiercely critical of the 'blanket' restrictions placed on the whole city — which still has the highest infection rate in the country.
He believes locking down specific neighbourhoods in the city which are particularly badly-hit by Covid would be a less economically crippling way to tackle the disease.
As it was revealed that Leicester must stay under lockdown, the council of Blackburn with Darwen in Lancashire has limited visits to one household and two members from a separate household.
The measures differ from the strict national guidance, which says two households of any size can meet inside to start to return to normality after spending almost four months in lockdown.
The authority fears a local lockdown like that of Leicester is becoming a 'real possibility'. Up to 85 per cent of new cases are among its South Asian population, a health chief claimed yesterday.
People are also being urged not to hug anyone from outside their own household and to get regularly tested at new mobile centres.
Residents in Blackburn with Darwen and Pendle — another Lancashire borough — have been asked to wear face masks inside to avoid being stung by local draconian restrictions.
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