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Revealed: The 21 UK areas where COVID cases are decreasing

Jimmy Nsubuga
·3-min read
COVID-19 cases are falling in just 21 areas of the UK
COVID-19 cases are falling in just 21 areas of the UK

COVID-19 cases are falling in just 21 out of 380 local authority areas of the UK, according to the latest official data.

Cases increased in 94% of areas as the Delta variant – first identified in India and now dominant across the UK – continues to spread.

The UK recorded a further 26,068 cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, the highest daily figure since 29 January and an increase of 70% on the week before.

Cases fell week on week in just 6% of areas, with the biggest percentage fall recorded in Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, in Scotland, dropping by 100% to zero cases.

The map below shows where cases are rising or falling. Decreases are in blue and increases are in red. The darker the colour, the bigger the change.

The UK recorded a further 26,068 cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday
The UK recorded a further 26,068 cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday

The 21 areas in the UK where COVID cases are falling

The figures show the percentage decrease in cases week on week, correct to 25 June, the most recent date for which complete data is available.

Comhairle nan Eilean Siar -100%

Corby -40%

Fermanagh and Omagh -16.4%

Surrey Heath -16.1%

Bedford -14.4%

Ribble Valley -13.7%

Fenland -13.6%

South Ayrshire -13.1%

Harborough -10.3%

Hinckley and Bosworth -10.2%

Nuneaton and Bedworth -10%

East Suffolk -6.7%

Herefordshire -6.4%

Chorley -6.2%

Swindon -6.2%

Southampton -6%

Woking -5.9%

Blackburn with Darwen -5.5%

Watford -5.4%

Bromley -2.4%

Bury -0.3%

The latest data shows that four out of the five areas with the highest overall case rates (rolling seven-day case rate per 100,000 people) were in Scotland.

They are Dundee City (661), East Lothian (623.8), Hyndburn (572.5), Midlothian (566.7) and Edinburgh (544.3).

On Wednesday, it emerged nearly 1,300 coronavirus cases in Scotland had been linked to football fans watching the Euro 2020 match against England in London.

Overall, 1,991 infections were linked to Scotland's three Euro 2020 games.

Public Health Scotland (PHS) said nearly two-thirds of these – 1,294 people – reported travelling to London to watch the England v Scotland game on 18 June.

Some 397 of these were fans who attended the game at Wembley Stadium, which was limited to a 22,500 capacity.

LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 15: A Covid-19 rapid testing facility is set up in Elephant and Castle on June 15, 2021 in London, England. Around 30 million people, or 45 percent, in the UK are fully vaccinated against Covid-19, but the government has postponed the full easing of social restrictions for another month, to allow time to expand its vaccination programme even further. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
COVID-19 rapid testing facility is set up in south London. (Getty)

Despite the surge in new infections, the UK’s daily fatality figures have remained in the low double digits.

In total, 14 deaths were reported on Wednesday, down from 23 the day before.

That compares with the more than 1,000 fatalities that were repeatedly reported per day at the height of Britain's worst wave in the pandemic in January.

Read more:

COVID outbreak as 1,300 cases linked to England v Scotland match at Euro 2020

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Scientists have said the trend suggests the rapid vaccine rollout has weakened the link between infections and deaths.

The data showed that 84.9% of adults have had a first dose of a COVID vaccine while 62.4% have had both.

Watch: Coronavirus in numbers – UK reports another 22,868 cases