Portugal to close bars and nightclubs; Sweden takes back tougher curbs against Omicron
The territories comprise two thirds of the authorities in London, more than half in the south-east of England and almost half in the east of England.
Most of the rest of the country has not yet reached record levels, however, with only a handful of areas in the north and west having a record level.
The figures, compiled by the news agency PA, show that:
• 21 of London’s 32 local authorities now have record cases of Covid-19, with capital accounting for the top 10 figures in the UK and 20 of the top 25.
• Four London areas have frequencies over 2,000 cases per 100,000 people: Lambeth (2,461.4), Wandsworth (2,361.9), Hackney and the City of London (2,096.8) and Southwark (2,064.0).
• In the south-east of England, 37 of the 64 local authorities now see record levels, led by Elmbridge (1,384.7), Reigate and Banstead (1,317.3) and Epsom and Ewell (1,271.6), all located in Surrey.
• 21 of the 45 local authorities in the east of England have record cases, including St Albans (1,311.3) and Cambridge (1,177.0).
However, these are not the highest figures in the region – Brentwood (1,460.3) and Thurrock (1,342.2) in Essex are higher, although this is slightly below the record for both areas, which was put under the second wave of the virus in winters.
• 12 of the 40 areas in the East Midlands are record highs, led by South Northamptonshire (970.8), Broxtowe in Nottinghamshire (917.8) and Charnwood in Leicestershire (916.6)
All figures are for the seven days up to 16 December, as the data for the last few days are still incomplete.
In total, 102 of the 377 local authorities in the UK (27%) have now registered their highest cases of Covid-19 since mass tests were rolled out across the country in May and June 2020.
Figures for fall rates during the first months of the pandemic are not directly comparable, as only a small number of people were tested, mostly in hospitals and nursing homes.
Of the 102 areas, only 11 are outside the south and east: six in the north-west of England (Bury, Cheshire West and Chester, Manchester, Salford, Stockport and Trafford); three in Scotland (East Lothian, Edinburgh and West Lothian); one in Northern Ireland (Ards and North Down); and one in the West Midlands (Newcastle-under-Lyme).
The contrast between south and east and north and west reflects how the Omicron variant of Covid-19 has spread in recent weeks – in particular how London was the first area in the UK where Omicron became the dominant variant of the virus.
Although nine out of ten local authorities in the UK are recording an increase in prices from week to week, most areas in the north and west of the country have not yet reached levels seen during the second wave of the virus.
But this may change in the coming days and weeks, once Omicron has become the dominant variant in all parts of the country.