England is set to see more of its lockdown restrictions eased on Monday, including through the reopening of non-essential retail outlets, outdoor hospitality and leisure centres.
The Government was clear that it would only ease lockdown restrictions if four tests were met;
- The vaccine deployment programme continues successfully
- Evidence shows vaccines are sufficiently effective in reducing hospitalisations and deaths in those vaccinated
- Infection rates do not risk a surge in hospitalisations which would put unsustainable pressure on the NHS
- Assessment of the risks is not fundamentally changed by new Variants of Concern
Last week, it was confirmed by the Government that these tests were being met and this is evident through the latest coronavirus data, with hospitalisations, deaths and cases of the virus all continuing to fall in the UK – despite the easing of some restrictions last month.
In particular, on cases, this week is the first week in many months in which every upper-tier local authority area in England had a 7-day case rate of less than 100 per 100,000 people. As of 5 April, the 7-day date case rate for England was 30.1 – down from 49.6 the previous week and the lowest level since the start of September 2020.
Looking at the UK as a whole, the number of deaths within 28 days of a coronavirus test has continued to fall. During lockdown in January, 8,565 deaths within 28 days of a positive COVID-19 test were reported in a single 7-day period, whereas just 172 deaths were recorded in the 7 days up to and including 6 April.
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 6 April 2021.
| UTLA Area | Cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 people | Change compared to case rate at 30 March |
| Barnsley | 99.65 | -19% |
| Luton | 91.06 | -18% |
| Wakefield | 86.42 | -34% |
| Leicester | 85.54 | -17% |
| Doncaster | 82.08 | -38% |
| City of Kingston upon Hull | 81.22 | -33% |
| Bradford | 78.18 | -32% |
| Sheffield | 75.57 | -29% |
| Rotherham | 73.85 | -44% |
| Leeds | 72.24 | -32% |
| Kirklees | 69.58 | -21% |
| Peterborough | 69.22 | -25% |
| North Lincolnshire | 66.17 | -44% |
| Blackburn with Darwen | 65.47 | -32% |
| Rochdale | 63.40 | -24% |
| Slough | 62.86 | -31% |
| Hartlepool | 61.92 | -27% |
| Darlington | 56.18 | -0% |
| Bolton | 55.64 | -46% |
| Tameside | 54.75 | -41% |
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 6 April 2021.
| UTLA Area | Cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 people | Change compared to case rate at 30 March |
| Southwark | 7.21 | -64% |
| Devon | 7.48 | -50% |
| Gloucestershire | 8.01 | -48% |
| Lambeth | 8.59 | -62% |
| County of Herefordshire | 8.82 | -68% |
| East Sussex | 8.97 | -52% |
| York | 9.02 | -61% |
| Lewisham | 9.81 | -58% |
| Cornwall and Isles of Scilly | 10.18 | -29% |
| Essex | 10.88 | -57% |
| Croydon | 11.38 | -46% |
| Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole | 11.38 | -49% |
| Haringey | 11.54 | -66% |
| Shropshire | 11.76 | -38% |
| Camden | 11.85 | -33% |
| Brighton and Hove | 12.03 | -50% |
| Medway | 12.21 | -51% |
| Bromley | 12.34 | -43% |
| Bath and North East Somerset | 12.93 | +26% |
| Wirral | 12.96 | -37% |
Data referenced in this article is publicly available from coronavirus.data.gov.uk. Where data is only included up to 5/6 April, 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.
