England has moved from a state of national lockdown – when the virus was prevalent throughout most of the country – to mare targeted local lockdowns. The Government has passed powers onto local authorities to implement lockdowns based on local outbreaks. On July 30, Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced that some parts of northern England would face reimposed lockdown conditions due to local spikes.
Mr Hancock tweeted: “The spread is largely due to households meeting and not abiding to social distancing.”
Local lockdowns have already been seen in Leicester, Greater Manchester, Preston and Bradford.
But now there are 12 more UK places in which a shut down could soon be on the cards.
Public Health England data reveals the latest coronavirus rate per local authority in terms of per 100,000 of the population. And the latest statistics showed 12 places where coronavirus cases are rising fastest in England, up to August 16.
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Birmingham has seen its cases more than double in the last two weeks, with an estimated 25 cases per 100,000 people – up from just 11 in the first week of August.
Birmingham City Council leader Ian Ward said the city is trying to avoid another lockdown in a bid to stop the economy from further failing.
Northampton is top of the list after witnessing a significant increase this week, going from 38.7 cases out of every 100,000 to almost triple the figure at 116.6 as 262 new cases were recorded in the seven days to August 16.
Health chiefs have been fighting outbreaks in the area after it was reported that 300 food factory workers caught the virus last week despite warnings of a local lockdown.
Other areas with notable increases include Manchester, which went from 37.8 out of 100,000 cases to 49, and Salford, in Greater Manchester, where cases have increased from 24.3 to 36.7.
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Nearby Bury has also jumped from 25.1 out of every 100,000 people to 33.
Barnsley, South Yorkshire, has seen a spike of almost double, from 13.4 to 23.1 as local leaders have warned this could lead to another lockdown.
Barnsley Council leader Sir Steve Houghton and the town’s Public Health director, Julia Burrows, said there was a particular increase in the area of Wombwell.
Stoke-on-Trent has seen an increase from 16.0 to 24.2.
Oadby and Wigston in Leicester have gone from 12.4 to 22.8 just weeks after officials reassured residents that cases in the area were slowing down.
Caven in North Yorkshire saw cases make a huge leap from 1.8 in every 100,000 to a staggering 22.8.
Coventry saw cases increase from 15.3 to 21.8, while in Woking, there was an increase from 8.9 to 19.8.
South-west London’s Richmond-upon-Thames council said they went from 5.6 to 19.2, prompting fears of a lockdown there too.
The spike in cases comes as areas that have previously been forced to take up a local lockdown have seen cases fall.
Oldham recorded just 200 new cases over the last week as the rate dropped from 105.4 cases in every 100,000 to 84.3.
Despite a drop in cases, however, Oldham still has the highest rate of infection in the UK.
In Leicester, the rate of infection continues to drop down from 68.9 to 47.4, with 168 new cases recorded.
The city became the first to face a local lockdown following a concerning increase in coronavirus cases.
Tough measures were introduced in Leicester in late June as the virus spread through food and clothing factories and multi-generational households.
Non-essential businesses alongside bars, restaurants, cinemas, hair salons and nail bars, were allowed to reopen on August 19.
But rules in place banning gatherings in private homes and gardens will remain in place for the time being.
