Covid-19 in the UK: How many coronavirus cases are there in your area?

There have been more than 4.2 million confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK and over 124,000 people have died, government figures show.

However, these figures include only people who have died within 28 days of testing positive for coronavirus.

Nearly 21 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:

If you can't see the look-up click here.

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 6,573 confirmed cases across the UK were announced by the government on Thursday.

This represents a significant fall from 9,985 cases last Thursday.

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 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

Nearly 21 million people have now received a first dose of a vaccine, and more than 950,000 people have had a second.

The current seven-day average for first doses is about 327,000 doses a day - down from more than 400,000 a day earlier this month.

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 17.7 million people in England have had one vaccine dose.

In Scotland, almost 1.7 million people have had their first dose, while the figure is more than 950,000 in Wales and more than 556,000 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

The government announced a further 242 deaths within 28 days of a positive test on Thursday.

On Thursday last week, there were 323 deaths reported.

Of the latest deaths, 202 were in England, 24 were in Scotland, 13 in Wales and three in 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 about 109,000.

Situation improving in hospitals

There are just over 12,000 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 more than 124,000 to 4 March.

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.

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 0.6 to 0.9.

The estimates for England, Scotland and Wales are currently all 0.7 to 0.9 and in Northern Ireland it is 0.8 to 1.05

The government has said in the past that the R number is one of the most important factors in making policy decisions.