Map shows UK’s biggest Covid hotspots as new variant spreads across country

Covid cases are on the rise around the country, with the ‘Pirola’ strain causing some concern since a cluster was identified at a care home.

A map on the UK Government website shows precisely where in the country the rate of positive Covid tests is highest.

It shows that in the week ending August 27, no areas had a rate higher than 49 per 100,000 population, but a significant number of areas – particularly in Wales and Lincolnshire – had a rate of 10 per 100,000 or more.

At the start of July, no areas had a case rate of more than nine per 100,000.

But going back six months, only one part of the country – Powys in Wales – had a rate lower than 10 per 100,000 for the week ending March 12.

The map includes Scotland, Wales and England, but figures for Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man are not shown.

There’s little doubt that those numbers don’t represent the full picture too, as the amount of Covid tests done in the UK has dropped dramatically since the country emerged from its lockdowns.

Scientists are concerned that the Pirola variant, which also goes by the name BA.2.86, has a high number of mutations which could help it evade immunity from vaccinations or previous infections.

It was first detected in Denmark on July 24, and has since been confirmed in a number of countries including South Africa, Canada, Denmark, Sweden, Israel and the US.

The confirmed case in the UK came from a person who had no recent history of travel, indicating that it may be spreading here – although it’s still unclear whether it could be more infectious than previous strains.

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