Where in England are Covid rates the highest?
South Tyneside has recorded the highest Covid-19 rate of any local area in England since mid-January, the governments latest coronavirus data reveals. In the week to 8 July, South Tyneside had the equivalent of 1,359 cases per 100,000 people, up sharply from the previous rate of 691.5. The last time an area had as high a rate was Knowsley in Merseyside on 10 January, when 1,367.5 in every 100,000 people there tested positive for the virus. Both are not far off the 1,700 cases per 100,000 people experienced in Barking and Dagenham last year, which is the highest level of infection reported during the pandemic. The most recent government data shows that Covid-19 cases continue to soar across England, with 93 per cent of the countrys local areas seeing a rise in infection rates in the seven days to 8 July. Only 22 places bucked this trend, with 21 of them registering a dip in case rates and one remaining unchanged. The northeast was the worst-affected part of England over this period, as the region had eight of the 10 areas with the worst coronavirus outbreaks. Here are the 10 most-affected areas:  South Tyneside, 1359.2 (up from 691.5)  North East Lincolnshire, 927.5 (up from 610.4)  Sunderland, 893.0 (up from 606.8)  Gateshead, 888.9 (up from 632.0)  Hartlepool, 877.6 (up from 419.6)  Newcastle upon Tyne, 832.2 (up from 713.6)  Middlesbrough, 783.1 (up from 341.2)  County Durham, 735.7 (up from 584.8)  North Tyneside, 718.1 (up from 585.8)  Barnsley, 708.9 (up from 442.8)  Given the worsening situation, Dr George Rae, chairman of the North East British Medical Association, told the BBC that masks should remain a legal requirement. He said: Public health measures which weve actually been abiding by have played a huge part in helping us fight the virus. Therefore I think it should be mandatory to wear a mask in certain specific situations.  His comments come less than a week before England scraps legal requirements to wear face coverings. Earlier on Tuesday, a government scientific adviser told the broadcaster that Boris Johnsons decision to lift lockdown restrictions like social distancing and mask wearing from 19 July constituted a very big risk. Professor Peter Openshaw, a member of Nervtag (New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group), said the policy would lead to an increase in hospitalisations and deaths among vulnerable groups. Personally, my very strong advice would be that really we shouldnt be doing anything at the moment which would accelerate the rising case numbers, he said. Additional reporting by PA