Coronavirus: Blackburn overtakes Bolton with highest Covid-19 infection rates in UK
Blackburn with Darwen has replaced Bolton as the area of the UK with the highest rate of new cases of Covid-19.
A total of 584 confirmed cases were recorded in Blackburn with Darwen in the seven days to 26 May, Public Health England said.
This is the equivalent of 390.1 cases per 100,000 people, the highest seven-day rate for the area since the start of February. By contrast, the seven-day rate in Bolton currently stands at 386.7 cases per 100,000.
This is down from 452.8 on 21 May, and suggests the recent surge in cases in the town, driven by the spread of the Indian variant of coronavirus, may have peaked.
Bolton, in Greater Manchester, shares a border with Blackburn with Darwen, which is in neighbouring Lancashire.
Both areas have reported some of the highest numbers of cases of the Indian variant, with Bolton recording 1,354 up to 25 May, the highest in the country, and Blackburn recording 361.
Surge testing
Health teams in both local authorities have been running surge testing for the virus, along with “surge vaccinations” to boost take-up among everyone who is eligible for the vaccine.
Meanwhile, the borough of Rossendale, also in Lancashire, is now recording the third highest rate of new Covid-19 cases in the UK, with 292.4 per 100,000 people. This is a sharp rise from 63.0 per 100,000 a week earlier.
Overall, 230 of the 380 local areas in the UK (61 per cent) recorded a week-on-week rise in Covid-19 case rates as of May 26, 130 (34 per cent) recorded a fall and 20 (5 per cent) were unchanged.
All case rates have been calculated by the PA news agency from data published by Public Health England on 30 May.