A leaked report has revealed 20 areas in the United Kingdom, which are believed to be the most at risk of witnessing a fresh coronavirus or COVID-19 outbreak. The 20 regions got flagged as 'areas of interest' in the memo of the Public Health England, with three of them, Sheffield, Bradford, and Kirklees requiring 'enhanced support'.
The list was topped by Leicester whereas around six of the 20 regions, Rotherham, Oldham, Rochdale and Blackburn, Darwen, Bedford, and Barnsley got noted as areas of concern. A full-scale lockdown got imposed in Leicester from June 30, allowing only the essential work to take place.
The British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has mentioned about four steps to be taken ahead of putting other areas under lockdowns, the steps are monitoring, engagement, testing and then targeted restrictions. The list that got leaked to The Observer and The Guardian is quite similar to the regular list of 10-worst hit places released each week by the Public Health England.
COVID-19 Crisis in UK
As per the data provided by the public report, Leicester is in a much worse situation than the other nine areas of most concern, suggesting local lockdowns for those areas are not going to happen so fast.
The list of 20 is much more detailed, outlining the level of concern and a traffic lighting system for the 'daily exceedance' of the virus, Blackburn with Darwen, Sheffield, Bolton, Knowsley, and Carlisle were rated red for 'daily exceedance'. Whereas Rochdale, Northampton, and Oldham have been rated amber.
Health officials mentioned that they review a range of measures. A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said, "Throughout the pandemic, we have been transparent about our response to coronavirus and are always looking to improve the data we publish, including the way we update testing statistics. The list of the ten local authorities with the highest weekly incidence of coronavirus is already publicly available in PHE's weekly surveillance report."
"All councils in England now have the ability to access testing data, right down to an individual and postcode level. If councils feel they require more assistance with data, of course, PHE is able to help them."
List Having Details About the 20 Areas
Area (Daily Incidence per 100,000 population, 7-day average to July 4).
