Covid: this map shows how many cases are in your postcode area – and where infections are rising fastest

One in five neighbourhoods in England saw the number of Covid cases more than double in the week to Christmas Eve, the latest government data shows.

In some parts of the country more than three in every 100 people tested positive on PCRs or lateral flow tests in the run up to Christmas, with the rate of cases soaring past 3,000 per every 100,000 residents.

It comes as the proportion of people taking PCR tests and getting positive results rose to the highest level on record.

In the week to 24 December, 711,470 people tested positive across England, a rate of 1,258.1 per 100,000 people, Covid dashboard figures show. That was up by 44.8% on the week to 17 December, when there were 491,482 cases, or 869.1 per 100,000.

Weekly periods are used to iron out fluctuations on different days of the week.

The figures are based on people who took a test in those seven days. Figures by date of test lag a few days behind those based on when the results were reported, but they are unaffected by delays in processing results.

Positive lateral flow tests are counted unless they were followed by a negative PCR result within 72 hours.

Our interactive maps reveal how many cases were recorded in every Middle Layer Super Output Area (MSOA) in England, and which areas saw the biggest percentage increase.

MSOAs are small geographical areas used for statistics, which each contain on average 7,200 people.

Out of 6,790 MSOAs, 6,183 (91%) saw cases increase in that time while 1,365 (20%) saw cases more than double.

The area with the fastest increase was Marsden, in Pendle, Lancashire, where cases rose from between 0 and two, to 50 (688.4 per 100,000). When there are fewer than three cases the true number is obscured to protect individuals’ identities.

The area with the highest rate of cases was Acre Lane in Lambeth, London, at 3,340.1 per 100,000 people.

Fourteen councils had a rate above 3,000 at the latest count – 11 in London and three in Manchester.

At a regional level, cases were highest in London, at 1,986.4 per 100,000, more than 2.5 times higher than in the North East (750.4).

The biggest increase was in the North West, where cases rose by 97.8% in a week to 1,326 per 100,000.

You can view a larger version of the Covid cases map here and of the weekly increase map here.

A message from the editor:

Thank you for reading. NationalWorld is a new national news brand, produced by a team of journalists, editors, video producers and designers who live and work across the UK. Find out more about who’s who in the team, and our editorial values. We want to start a community among our readers, so please follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and keep the conversation going. You can also sign up to our newsletters and get a curated selection of our best reads to your inbox every day.