As England prepares for the further easing of lockdown measures on Monday, rates of COVID-19 have been falling again across the UK.
Falling cases, falling deaths and rising vaccinations are likely to see more lockdown measures ease over the coming weeks – a prospect supported by the latest Coronavirus data. On Sunday, the UK reported 3,862 cases of COVID-19, which is the lowest daily total in more than 6 months. The weekend has also seen the UK pass another major milestone in its vaccination programme, with there now being 30 million people across the four nations that have received at least one dose of a vaccine against COVID-19.
Click through the slides above to view some of the latest national and UK-wide data, or keep reading to find out which areas in England had the lowest and highest recorded prevalence of the virus this week…
The 20 UTLA areas with the highest prevalence of COVID-19 cases
The following upper-tier local authority areas in England had the highest rates of COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people in the seven-day period ending 23 March 2021.
| UTLA Area | Cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 people | Change compared to case rate at 16 March |
| North Lincolnshire | 169.48 | +19% |
| Barnsley | 162.44 | -17% |
| Rotherham | 158.62 | +12% |
| Bradford | 149.69 | +9% |
| Doncaster | 144.60 | +30% |
| Kingston upon Hull | 143.58 | -16% |
| Wakefield | 140.10 | +15% |
| Luton | 133.30 | +3% |
| Sheffield | 130.29 | +20% |
| Leeds | 111.46 | +11% |
| Peterborough | 111.24 | -18% |
| Tameside | 109.05 | -10% |
| Calderdale | 108.77 | +10% |
| Rochdale | 108.36 | -6% |
| Blackburn with Darwen | 107.55 | -1% |
| Leicester | 106.99 | -6% |
| Oldham | 106.28 | 2% |
| Kirklees | 105.96 | +4% |
| Stockton-on-Tees | 105.90 | +11% |
| Bolton | 102.94 | -1% |
The 20 UTLA areas with the lowest prevalence of COVID-19 cases
The following upper-tier local authority areas in England had the lowest rates of COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people in the seven-day period ending 23 March 2021.
| UTLA Area | Cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 people | Change compared to case rate at 16 March |
| Isle of Wight | 14.81 | -19% |
| Devon | 16.20 | -13% |
| Gloucestershire | 17.89 | 0% |
| Cornwall and Isles of Scilly | 18.43 | +15% |
| Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole | 18.97 | -40% |
| Bath and North East Somerset | 20.18 | -5% |
| East Sussex | 20.28 | +17% |
| Croydon | 21.20 | -35% |
| Camden | 21.85 | -15% |
| Torbay | 22.02 | -14% |
| Hackney and City of London | 22.77 | 44% |
| Barnet | 23.24 | -14% |
| Bromley | 23.47 | -28% |
| Southwark | 24.15 | 0% |
| West Sussex | 26.16 | -27% |
| Sutton | 26.65 | -38% |
| Cumbria | 26.80 | +9% |
| North Somerset | 27.44 | -22% |
| Lewisham | 27.47 | -1% |
| Lambeth | 27.60 | -17% |
UTLA areas where there has been an increase in the COVID-19 case rate recently
The following upper-tier local authority areas in England saw an increase in their rates of COVID-19 cases by more than 15% per 100,000 people in the seven-day period ending 23 March 2021, compared to the previous 7-day period.
| UTLA Area | Cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 people | Change compared to case rate at 16 March |
| Barking and Dagenham | 66.23 | 101% |
| Bexley | 37.86 | 56% |
| Windsor and Maidenhead | 58.12 | 52% |
| Hackney and City of London | 22.77 | 44% |
| Plymouth | 42.73 | 42% |
| Greenwich | 46.54 | 37% |
| Cheshire West and Chester | 77.24 | 37% |
| Doncaster | 144.60 | 30% |
| Blackpool | 48.05 | 29% |
| Central Bedfordshire | 54.39 | 26% |
| Telford and Wrekin | 35.58 | 23% |
| Sheffield | 130.29 | 20% |
| Dudley | 79.60 | 20% |
| North Lincolnshire | 169.48 | 19% |
| Rutland | 47.59 | 19% |
| Somerset | 41.26 | 18% |
| Brighton and Hove | 37.47 | 17% |
| Bristol, City of | 50.07 | 17% |
| East Sussex | 20.28 | 17% |
| Enfield | 33.55 | 17% |
| Wiltshire | 29.40 | 16% |
| Wakefield | 140.10 | 15% |
Data referenced in this article is publicly available from coronavirus.data.gov.uk. Where data is only included up to 23 March, this is to try to ensure accuracy, due to there being a delay between virus tests taking place and cases been recorded. Data may be updated – the inclusion of data here and our analysis is based on the available data at the time of writing. Our analysis has been created for information purposes only and we cannot guarantee its accuracy.
