Covid-19 rates rise in all south east London boroughs

The latest case rate figures have been released for every local authority in England, and paint a picture of Covid-19 cases slowly creeping up as the effects of easing the lockdown begins to emerge.

Nationally, 77% of local areas in England have seen a rise in cases in the last week as fears grow about the Indian variation which Matt Hancock has warned could be behind 50-75% of new cases currently.

The number of new cases are still relatively low, in most cases still below 50 per 100,000, but health experts will be monitoring the rise closely ahead of June 21.

Covid-19 infection rates in south east London - PA

The figures, accurate for the seven days up to June 3 (the most recent days are excluded for accuracy), are based on the number of people who have tested positive for Covid-19 in either a lab-reported or rapid lateral flow test, by specimen date.

The rate is expressed as the number of new cases per 100,000 people.

Southwark currently has the highest Covid-19 infection rate in south east London, peaking above 50 for the first time in months.

The borough has recorded new cases of coronavirus in the last week, giving it a rate of 58.3, more than double its rate last week of 25.1.

Covid-19 infection rates in south east London - PA

In Bromley, 149 new coronavirus cases were reported, giving it an infection rate of 44.8, up from 30.7 last week.

Almost mirroring Bromley, Greenwich currently has a Covid-19 rate of 44.5, up from 30.9 last week, after 128 cases were recorded.

And Lewisham has also seen a sharp increase in cases, with its Covid-19 rate rising from 19.9 to 38.6 with 118 new cases.

Bexley has the lowest infection rate in the region with 21.7, still up from 17.3 the week prior, with 54 new cases confirmed in the borough.

Nearby, Dartford has a Covid-19 rate of 46.2 and Croydon recorded 50.4, both rising by around 10 from the week before.

Covid-19 infection rates in south east London - PA

Nationally, Blackburn with Darwen in Lancashire continues to have the highest rate, with 818 new cases in the seven days to June 3, the equivalent of 546.4 cases per 100,000 people.

This is up from 416.8 in the seven days to May 27.

Bolton in Greater Manchester has the second highest rate, down from 390.2 to 319.6, with 919 new cases.

Rossendale in Lancashire has the third highest, down from 319.0 to 288.2, with 206 new cases.

The list has been calculated by the PA news agency based on Public Health England data published on June 7 on the Government's coronavirus dashboard.