Coronavirus: the 10 areas of the UK with the highest Covid-19 rates as BA2 wave peaks

Scotland still has the UK’s highest coronavirus case rate, official figures show.

It had 1,071 cases per 100,000 residents, higher than any other UK nation or region, in the week to March 31.

The second highest rate was in South West England, with 980 cases per 100,000 residents.

Dame Jenny Harries, Chief Executive of the UK Health Security Agency, said: “The pandemic is not over and how the virus will develop over time remains uncertain. Covid still poses a real risk to many of us, particularly with high case rates and hospitalisations.”

The UK’s latest coronavirus wave has peaked and is now falling, the figures show.

There were 501,629 positive tests recorded in the week ending March 31, a 17% drop from the week before.

The wave, linked to the highly contagious Omicron sub-variant BA.2, is now subsiding in all regions of the UK, the data shows.

The BA.2 wave has seen case rates hit the second highest level in the pandemic so far, after the Omicron wave of the past winter.

The high infection rates, and the resulting absences, are still causing disruption in schools and workplaces.

Hospitalisations remain at high levels across the UK, although they are lower than the numbers seen during the lockdowns of 2020 and 2021.

Here are the 10 council areas across the UK which saw the highest Covid-19 case rates in the week to March 31.