Daily reported cases of Covid in UK drop for fifth day in a row for first time since February

Redcar & Cleveland, Middlesbrough and Stockton-on-Tees are the three areas with the highest Covid cases
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The number of new cases of Covid reported each day in the UK has fallen for the fifth day in a row - as 16 cases of the Columbian variant has been found in the UK.

A total of 29,173 cases were reported by the government on 25 July, down from the 48,161 recorded a week ago on July 18.

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Members of the public queue to enter a temporary Covid testing centre set up a car park in Kendal in Cumbria (AFP/Getty Images)Members of the public queue to enter a temporary Covid testing centre set up a car park in Kendal in Cumbria (AFP/Getty Images)
Members of the public queue to enter a temporary Covid testing centre set up a car park in Kendal in Cumbria (AFP/Getty Images)

At a glance: 5 key points

- 25 July was the fifth day in a row that the number of daily reported cases had dropped

- The average daily cases are now down 15% week-on-week

- The last time cases fell for five consecutive days was between February 5 and 9

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- Government figures show that a further 28 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid as of Sunday, bringing the UK total to 129,158

- Government data also shows that, up to July 24, some 46,563,452 first doses of Covid vaccine had been administered in the UK, with 37,160,659 second doses

Background

It is too soon for the data to show any impact from the ending of legal restrictions in England on Freedom Day (19 July) due to the time lag between people becoming infected and getting tested.

The latest case rates for every local authority in England show that infection levels were rising in the majority of areas last week.

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Some restrictions remain in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, including limits on indoor gatherings and wearing face coverings in certain areas.

Of the 315 local areas in England, 270 (86%) have seen a week-on-week rise in rates, 43 (14%) have seen a fall, and two remain unchanged.

Redcar & Cleveland continues to have the highest rate, with 1,785 new cases in the seven days to July 21, the equivalent of 1,301.5 per 100,000 people. This is up from 1,268,7 in the seven days to July 14.

Middlesbrough has the second highest rate, up from 1,178.2 to 1,194.5, with 1,684 new cases while Stockton-on-Tees has the third highest rate, up from 944.5 to 1,081.3, with 2,134 new cases.

Additional reporting and calculations by PA.

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