Covid-19 in the UK: How many coronavirus cases are there in your area?
By The Visual and Data Journalism Team
BBC News
- Published
There have been over 4.4 million confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK and more than 127,000 people have died, government figures show.
However, these figures include only people who have died within 28 days of testing positive for coronavirus.
Almost 37 million people in the UK have now had their first dose of a coronavirus vaccine.
Find out how the pandemic has affected your area and how it compares with the national average:
Note: The figure for total cases may be lower in some areas of the country than it was earlier in the week. This is because the government has removed more than 5,000 cases this week due to a number of positive rapid lateral flow tests being followed within three days by a negative lab PCR test, meaning the person did not have Covid.
Cases have declined
The average number of new daily cases in the UK has fallen substantially since the start of the year, but the rate of decline has slowed in recent weeks.
A further 2,696 confirmed cases in the UK were announced by the government on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned that the 'Indian variant' of Covid-19 could affect the timing of the last step in England's roadmap out of lockdown from 21 June.
It is thought the infection rate in the first peak last spring was much higher than was evident from the reported number of cases. Testing capacity was too limited to detect the true number of daily cases.
The government recently changed the way cases in England were reported. Cases that were identified using a lateral flow test have been removed if the person subsequently took a PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test - for which swabs are sent to a lab for analysis - and tested negative within three days.
The orange and darker blue areas on the map below show the places currently seeing the highest number of cases per 100,000 people.
All nations in the UK have been easing restrictions on everyday life in recent weeks. You can use our postcode look-up to check what the rules are where you live.
Vaccine rollout continues
Almost 37 million people - more than 70% of all UK adults - have now received a first dose of a vaccine and nearly 21 million people have had a second.
In total, nearly 31 million people in England have had one vaccine dose.
More than three million people in Scotland have had their first dose and two million in Wales. Northern Ireland has given more than one million first doses.
More second doses are being given than first doses now, as people in earlier priority groups receive their booster injections.
First vaccines are now being offered to people in their thirties in parts of the UK.
Currently people aged 36 and above in England, over-30s in Northern Ireland, those aged 40 and above in Scotland and the over-40s in Wales are eligible to book appointments.
All adults in the UK are expected to be offered their first dose of a coronavirus vaccine by the end of July.
The government had previously announced that those under the age of 40 would be offered an alternative to the AstraZeneca vaccine, after evidence emerged linking the vaccine to rare blood clots.
Daily deaths falling
A further three deaths in the UK within 28 days of a positive test were reported on Wednesday.
All three deaths were in England. No deaths were reported in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.
Rules were amended last summer to include deaths in the coronavirus total only if they occurred within 28 days of a positive test. Previously in England, all deaths after a positive test were included.
England has seen the majority of UK deaths from Covid-19. Using the 28-day cut-off, there have been more than 112,000.
Situation improving in hospitals
The most recent government figures show 939 people with coronavirus in hospital in the UK.
Numbers in mid-January reached almost double the highest point of the peak last spring, but have been falling since then.
London, the South East and the Midlands saw the highest numbers in the winter peak, but patient numbers have fallen in all UK nations and regions in recent months.
Everywhere saw more patients in hospital in the winter surge than during the first wave last spring.
However, the pandemic has left hospitals facing a huge backlog, putting lives at risk, patient groups and staff are warning.
In-depth analysis by BBC News has found nearly a third of hospitals have seen long waits increase, major disruption to cancer services and a fall in GP referrals and screening services.
Death toll could be above 150,000
When looking at the overall death toll from coronavirus, official figures count deaths in three different ways, each giving a slightly different number.
First, government figures count people who died within 28 days of testing positive for coronavirus - and that total is now approaching 128,000.
According to the latest ONS figures, the UK has now seen more than 151,000 deaths - that's all those deaths where coronavirus was mentioned on the death certificate even if the person had not been tested for the virus.
The third measure counts all deaths over and above the usual number at the time of year - that figure was just under 116,000 by 7 May.
In total, there were 9,202 deaths registered in the week to 7 May - 19% lower than usual levels - but the week also included the early May bank holiday when registry offices were closed, so it's likely fewer deaths were registered. Of the total deaths, 139 were related to coronavirus - down by 93 on the previous week. It's the lowest total since last September.
There have now been more deaths involving Covid than "excess" deaths, which means non-Covid deaths must be below usual levels.
This could be because of a milder flu season - resulting from less travel and more social distancing - and because some people who might have died for other reasons had there been no pandemic, died of Covid.
What is the R number?
The "R number" is the average number of people an infected person will pass the disease on to.
If R is below one, then the number of people contracting the disease will fall; if it is above one, the number will grow.
The government has said in the past that the R number is one of the most important factors in making policy decisions.
However, it is harder to estimate the R number when cases are at a low level and therefore the government is not currently producing a figure for the UK as a whole.
The latest estimates for England and Northern Ireland are 0.8 to 1.1. In Scotland it is 0.8 to 1.0. In Wales it is 0.8 to 0.9.