Yahoo News Covid map shows huge North Staffordshire summer wave as cases surge
New figures show that part of North Staffordshire has the fifth highest rates of Covid cases as a summer wave hits the country. Variants FLiRT and LB.1 are driving a recent rise in infections across the UK with more people reporting cold-like symptoms associated with the virus.
It has been suggested that the new strains may be able to evade immunity, causing some people who have been vaccinated to get ill. Experts also fear that during the summer the new strains of Covid may have found a breeding ground among large groups together at festivals and to watch the Euros 2024.
The latest data from the UK Health Security Agency shows Newcastle-under-Lyme is currently a hotspot for cases. In the week ending June 30, the borough had an infection rate of 18.7 per 100,000 of the population.
Only Copeland, Allerdale and Carlisle in Cumbria and Gedling in Nottinghamshire have higher rates. Meanwhile, Stoke-on-Trent's rate is 14.73 per 100,000 and the Staffordshire Moorlands is 13.54 per 100,000.
You can see the rates where you live using our interactive map
Dr Mariyam Malik, an NHS and private GP, said coronavirus can spread rapidly over the summer months. She said: "Increased travel and big events such as festivals often result in crowded settings where the virus can spread more easily, and there are no longer any legal restrictions like wearing masks and social distancing."
But while a summer rise in Covid infections is alarming, Paul Hunter, a professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia, told the Times that Covid "will never be as serious as it once was". However, he did caution that the elderly and vulnerable remain at heightened risk.
Professor Hunter said: "If you are under 40 the risk of death is minuscule. If you are over 75 the risk is real and significant."
