The five UK areas with the highest coronavirus rates are all in Scotland, according to the latest figures broken down by local authorities.
The figures are based on the government’s own Covid dashboard and are for the seven days to September 6. The rate is expressed as the number of new cases per 100,000 people.
Of the 377 local areas in the UK, 345 or 92 per cent have seen a week-on-week rise in rates, while just 31 (8 per cent) have seen a fall and one is unchanged.
Carmarthenshire in southwest Wales has the biggest increase in the UK, up from 424.6 to 742.9 cases per 100,000 people.
Clackmannanshire in Scotland has the second biggest week-on-week rise, from 715.5 to 1,009.9 cases per 100,000 people.
They are followed by Caerphilly (391.8 to 659.8), Vale of Glamorgan (331.9 to 571.3) and Fife (608.1 to 819.0).
Meanwhile, West Dunbartonshire has the highest Covid rate in the UK, with 1,133 new cases in the seven days to September 6 – the equivalent of 1,282.5 per 100,000 people.
North Lanarkshire has the second highest rate, down slightly from 1,266.0 to 1,237.0, with 4,220 new cases.
Inverclyde, Renfrewshire, and East Renfrewshire, all in Scotland, follow with the UK’s highest Covid rates.
The figures come as three Cornwall hospitals temporarily suspended surgeries in order to focus on emergency care caused by a “peak” in Covid admissions.
Royal Cornwall Hospital Trust, which operates Royal Cornwall Hospital at Treliske, Truro, St Micheal’s Hospital, Hayle, and West Cornwall Hospital, Penzance, has more than 40 people in hospital who are Covid positive and nearly 50 more who are contacts and need to be isolated, CornwallLive reports.
In a statement, the Trust’s medical director said it had taken the “difficult decision” as “Covid-related admissions remain high and health and care services in Cornwall under continued pressure.”
The UK recorded a further 147 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of Thursday, bringing the UK total to 133,988.
Additional reporting by PA