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 more than 4.2 million confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK and nearly 125,000 people have died, government figures show.
However, these figures include only people who have died within 28 days of testing positive for coronavirus.
More than 22 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:
Cases declining
The number of daily infections in the UK continues to decline, with strict lockdown measures still in place across the country.
A further 5,177 confirmed cases across the UK were announced by the government on Sunday.
This is down from 6,035 cases last Sunday.
It is thought the infection rate was much higher than was evident from the reported number of cases during the first peak in spring last year. Testing capacity was too limited to detect the true number of daily cases.
The darker orange areas on the map below show the places currently seeing the highest number of cases per 100,000 people.
During the current lockdown, people have been told to stay at home, other than for limited purposes such as essential food shopping, medical appointments and work.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced a "roadmap" for easing restrictions in England, starting with the reopening of schools on Monday 8 March.
In Wales, stay-at-home rules will remain in place until at least 12 March, but some young children have started returning to school.
Younger children have also begun returning to school in Scotland, with the government there hoping to lift the stay-at-home restriction on 5 April.
In Northern Ireland, children will begin a phased return to school this month, and other restrictions will be reviewed on 16 March.
Vaccine rollout continues
More than 22 million people have now received a first dose of a vaccine, and more than one million people have had a second.
The current seven-day average for first doses is just over 300,000 doses a day - down from more than 400,000 a day in early February.
This drop in first doses can be partially explained by an increase in the number of second doses now being administered.
But Health Secretary Matt Hancock has also blamed the reduction on supply issues and said the rollout will see "some really bumper weeks in March".
In total, about 18.9 million people in England have had one vaccine dose.
In Scotland, more than 1.7 million people have had their first dose, while the figure is approaching one million in Wales and nearly 600,000 in Northern Ireland.
The government is aiming to offer a vaccine to everyone in the top nine priority groups, including care home residents, healthcare workers, people required to shield and everyone aged 50 and over, by 15 April.
After that, the rest of the adult population will be vaccinated, with people prioritised by age.
All adults in the UK are expected to be offered their first dose of a coronavirus vaccine by the end of July.
Daily deaths also falling
Due to a problem with the data, the government was unable to provide a figure for newly-reported deaths on Sunday.
On Saturday, a further 158 deaths across the UK within 28 days of a positive test were announced, down from 290 deaths a week earlier.
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 nearly 110,000.
Situation improving in hospitals
There are just under 11,000 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 recent weeks, but patient numbers are falling in all UK nations and regions now.
But everywhere saw more patients in hospital in the winter surge than during the first wave last spring.
Death toll could be higher
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 nearly 125,000.
Second, ONS figures include all deaths where coronavirus was mentioned on the death certificate, even if the person had not been tested for the virus. This figure is more than 140,000 deaths, to 19 February.
The third measure counts all deaths over and above the usual number at the time of year - that figure was more than 120,000 by 19 February.
In total, there were 15,577 deaths registered in the week to 19 February, which is down on last week but still 18% higher than "normal" for the time of year.
Of that figure, 4,447 deaths were related to coronavirus - down by just over a quarter from the previous week.
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.
- COVID VACCINE: When can you get it?
- NEW VARIANTS: How worrying are they?
- FACE MASKS: When do I need to wear one?
- TESTING: How do I get a virus test?
- GLOBAL TRACKER: Where are the virus hotspots?
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's current estimate for the R number across the whole of the UK is 0.7 to 0.9.
The estimates for England and Scotland are currently 0.7 to 0.9, in Wales it is 0.6 to 0.9 and in Northern Ireland it is 0.7.
The government has said in the past that the R number is one of the most important factors in making policy decisions.
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