Covid: 1 in 35 people living with coronavirus in England – 14 areas with highest infection rates

Covid infections are rising across England, the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) infection survey shows – but people are up to 1.6 times more likely to be infected in some areas compared to others

The estimated number of people testing positive for coronavirus was 1,513,700, representing 2.8% of the population, or around 1 in 35 people, according to the weekly infection survey. The positivity rate in England has been gradually increasing since 5 September when 1.3% of the population were testing positive. The survey is based on PCR samples taken from random households, regardless if they showed symptoms, in the week ending 3 October.

Almost every region in England was found to have an increase in infections, except in the North East. While the ONS found the percentage of people testing positive increased in the two weeks up to 3 October in the region, it said the trend over the last week alone was uncertain.

Some areas of England are recording much higher infection rates than other parts. In the worst-affected areas, 3.6% of the population were thought to be infected, 1.5 times higher than in the area with the lowest infection rate – London’s Bromley, where 2.1% were infected.

Here we reveal the 14 areas that have the greatest proportion of the population testing positive for Covid. The areas are subregions which in some places group several local authorities together into a bigger cluster.