Only 5 UK areas saw a rise in Covid cases at the end of January - how regions compare

Only five local areas in the UK have recorded a week-on-week increase in Covid-19 case rates, new figures show.

All national and regional rates are now back at levels seen before the new year, with rates only rising in a small number of local authority areas.

Derbyshire Dales and East Lindsey in the East Midlands, along with Argyll and Bute, East Renfrewshire and Midlothian in Scotland, are the only local authority areas in the country to record an increase in rates for the seven days to 27 January.

However, in all five localities the week-on-week rise was small.

The falling rates in the vast majority of the UK suggests the lockdowns that are currently in place across all four UK nations are having an effect in driving down the number of new reported cases of coronavirus.

Here is how each nation and region compare.

England

The rate of new cases in England as a whole in the week to 27 January stood at 293.9, which is down from 422.4 in the previous week, and the lowest rate since the week to 16 December.

London

The capital still has the highest rate for any region in England, with the seven-day rate of new cases currently at 354.7 per 100,000 people, down from 560.3 one week earlier.

However all London boroughs are recording a fall in rates, with the largest seen in Hounslow, down from 787.4 to 475.8, Barking and Dagenham, down from 739.8 to 453.4, and Greenwich, down from 628.6 to 343.1.

South East England

The regional rate for South East England is currently at its lowest since 13 December, with 279.9 cases per 100,000 people in the seven days 27 January, down from 412.1 a week earlier.

Rushmoor has seen the biggest drop, falling from 745/3 to 416.5, followed by Eastbourne, down from 727.7 to 400.0, and Slough, down from 869.3 to 589.8.

South West England

The South West currently has the lowest regional rate in England at 199.5, which is down week-on-week from 283.7, the lowest since 26 December.Local rates are falling in every area, with the largest drops recorded in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Pool, down from 659.7 to 453.0, Plymouth, down from 292.3 to 138.9, and Mendip, down from 295.0 to 179.1.

Eastern England

The regional rate for Eastern England currently stands at 305.1, which is down week-on-week from 439.7 and marks the lowest level since 14 December.

The biggest falls have been seen in Tendring, down from 700.7 to 415.5, Harlow, down from 5858 to 405.4, and Castle Point, down from 579.8 to 338.6.

East Midlands

The East Midlands is the only region in England to house areas where case rates have shown a week-on-week rise.

However, this only applies to the Derbyshire Dales, where the rate is up from 206.0 to 243.3, and East Lindsey, where rates have increased slightly from 113.6 to 122.8. All other areas have shown a week-on-week drop.

West Midlands

The rate for the whole of the West Midlands currently stands at 350.4 cases per 100,000 people, which is the second highest overall in England.