Covid cases are on the rise across the country - and these nine areas of the North East have the highest infection rates.
According to the latest seven-day figures from the Government's Covid data map, parts of County Durham, Sunderland, North Tyneside, Newcastle, Gateshead and Northumberland have high rates of infection.
Pallion South and High Barnes in Sunderland saw the sharpest rise, with cases up 262.5% to 29, with a rate of infection of 505.1 per 100,000 people. Meanwhile, areas in County Durham and Gateshead, including Belmont and Carrville, Blaydon North and Winlaton Mill, also showed steep increases over a week. Scroll down to see which nine North East areas had the highest infection rates for the seven–day period ending on June 26.
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Nationally, Covid-19 infections have jumped by more than half a million in a week, with the rise likely to be driven by the latest Omicron variants BA.4 and BA.5, figures show. Hospital numbers are also continuing to increase, with early signs of a rise in intensive care admissions among older age groups.
A total of 2.3 million people in private households are estimated to have had the virus last week, up 32% from a week earlier, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This is the highest estimate for total infections since late April, but is still some way below the record high of 4.9 million seen at the peak of the Omicron BA.2 wave at the end of March.
Sarah Crofts, ONS head of analytical outputs for the Covid-19 infection survey, said: "Across the UK we've seen a continued increase of over half a million infections, likely caused by the growth of BA.4 and BA.5 variants. This rise is seen across all ages, countries and regions of England. We will continue to monitor the data closely to see if this growth continues in the coming weeks."
(These are the seven-day infection rates for the week ending June 26, 2022, taken from the UK Government's Covid data map. Infection rates are the number of new cases for every 100,000 residents):
Durham City - 524.1 (77 cases, down 7.2%)
Belmont & Carrville - 578.7 (43 cases, up 126.3%)
Pity Me & Framwellgate Moor - 557.9 (36 cases, up 125%)
Pallion South & High Barnes - 505.1 (29 cases, up 262.5%)
Whickham - 499.4 (35 cases, up 16.7%)
Blaydon North & Winlaton Mill - 615.7 (41 cases, up 127.8%)
North Heaton - 432.5 (37 cases, up 94.7%)
West Monkseaton - 427.3 (25 cases, up 66.7%)
Darras Hall, Stamfordham & Heddon - 407.6 (32 cases, up 146.2%)
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