Covid-19 cases falling in England's most infected areas

New cases of Covid-19 have fallen by almost 40 per cent in locked-down Leicester, the latest data shows, with the Welsh town of Merthyr Tydfil now Britain's most infected area.

Daily data published by Public Health England (PHE) shows the rate of infection is falling in all five areas of England with the highest number of new cases.

The daily rate of infection in Leicester has fallen from a rolling average of 20 cases per 100,000 people on June 29, when the local lockdown was announced, to 12 on July 9, according to the new data released by PHE.

According to the latest weekly statistics - up to July 5 - the three cities and counties with the highest rates of infection in England and Wales are now Merthyr Tydfil, Leicester and Wrexham.

The English local authorities of Rochdale, Bradford and Kirklees all have weekly infection rates of around 30 per 100,000.

Leicester still has the highest weekly rate of infection in England at 116, with residents left out of the loosening of restrictions seen elsewhere in the UK since July 4.

Cases falling in the most infected areas

Daily new cases are falling dramatically in some of the most infected areas of England, according to the latest PHE data.

As infections in Leicester have fallen by 38 per cent since June 29, all the other worst affected areas have seen large drops in the same period.

In Bradford the daily infection rate has fallen by 50 per cent, 32 per cent in Kirklees, 29 per cent in Rochdale and 20 per cent in Blackburn with Darwen.

Rochdale has now become the second most infected in area of England with approximately 33 cases for every 100,000 people, overtaking Bradford, which is now third.

But both areas saw a decline in their rate of confirmed cases compared to last week, decreasing by 2 and 14 per 100,000 respectively.

The declining rate in Leicester means that Merthyr Tydfil is now the most infected area of Britain after an outbreak at a meat plant - though officials say the surge in cases is contained and will require no local lockdown for the area.

Still locked down

Unlike counterparts in the rest of England, residents in Leicester are still facing strict lockdown measures, including not being able to go to pubs, restaurants and barbers.

Data compiled by Google from the use of its map platform show that residents are now staying at home more than the rest of the UK.

But the data also reveals throughout the course of lockdown more people in Leicester were heading to workplaces when compared to the rest of the country.

Leicester’s garment industry has come under scrutiny as health officials seek answers for the city’s surge in cases, amid allegations thousands of factories continued to operate during lockdown, some without proper social distancing.