How did the coronavirus spread in the UK and where is worst hit?
Jump in recorded deaths as fatalities in community added to daily tally

The number of Covid-19 cases confirmed in the UK has passed 165,000, with more than 26,000 related deaths.
The total leapt up on Wednesday as deaths in the community, such as in care homes, were added to the tally for hospitals in daily official figures for the first time.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who has been standing in for Boris Johnson, said the significantly increased total included previously unrecorded community deaths dating back to 2 March and did not indicate “a sudden surge” in fatalities.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Meanwhile, latest figures show that 52,429 coronavirus tests were carried out on Tuesday - well short of the government’s target of 100,000 daily tests by the end of April.
So which regions of the UK have been hardest hit?
The total
A total of 166,441 people have tested positive and 26,097 have died from the Covid-19 coronavirus in the UK, according to the latest figures - although there are believed to be many more unreported cases.
A total of 765 new deaths were confirmed in the 24 hours to 5pm on Tuesday.
How did the virus spread?
The first confirmed UK case of coronavirus was recorded in York at the end of January. Since then, the number of cases has increased dramatically, spreading fastest in urban centres with international transport connections.
As of Wednesday, London had reported more cases (24,090) than anywhere else in the country. Greater Manchester had confirmed 6,224 cases, with a further 2,782 infections in Birmingham, reports The Times.
Northwick Park in northwest London was one of the hospitals to first declare an emergency over the outbreak, with more than 50 coronavirus patients dying in a fortnight.
Another early hotspot was in the West Midlands, where an outbreak near a church caused a cluster of deaths at the Royal Wolverhampton Hospital.
Where are the UK's cases now?
Area | Number of deaths |
Kent | 3,272 |
Birmingham | 2,782 |
Lancashire | 2,695 |
Hampshire | 2,689 |
Surrey | 2,498 |
Essex | 2,451 |
Hertfordshire | 2,202 |
Sheffield | 2,039 |
Cumbria | 1,793 |
Staffordshire | 1,650 |
Oxfordshire | 1,515 |
Norfolk | 1,427 |
Liverpool | 1,363 |
Croydon | 1,336 |
Brent | 1,330 |
Leeds | 1,322 |
County Durham | 1,279 |
Derbyshire | 1,195 |
Barnet | 1,176 |
Southwark | 1,167 |
Gloucestershire | 1,152 |
Lambeth | 1,117 |
Warwickshire | 1,116 |
Sunderland | 1,098 |
West Sussex | 1,083 |
Worcestershire | 1,081 |
Manchester | 1,047 |
Ealing | 1,030 |
Nottinghamshire | 1,030 |
Bromley | 1,027 |
Northamptonshire | 1,013 |
Suffolk | 999 |
Wirral | 971 |
Sandwell | 940 |
Newham | 938 |
Walsall | 920 |
Wandsworth | 904 |
Lewisham | 898 |
Harrow | 886 |
Leicestershire | 884 |
North Yorkshire | 872 |
Newcastle upon Tyne | 852 |
Enfield | 824 |
Cheshire East | 813 |
Lincolnshire | 804 |
Bradford | 796 |
Stockport | 796 |
Buckinghamshire | 789 |
Wolverhampton | 777 |
Sefton | 770 |
Gateshead | 752 |
Cheshire West and Chester | 746 |
Bolton | 732 |
Northumberland | 732 |
Dudley | 720 |
Cambridgeshire | 718 |
Waltham Forest | 712 |
Hillingdon | 711 |
Devon | 676 |
Rotherham | 666 |
Redbridge | 658 |
Sutton | 656 |
Coventry | 649 |
Merton | 637 |
Hounslow | 635 |
Leicester | 630 |
Havering | 623 |
Greenwich | 620 |
Wigan | 615 |
St. Helens | 614 |
Barnsley | 608 |
Hammersmith and Fulham | 605 |
Bexley | 597 |
Hackney | 597 |
Bristol, City of | 593 |
Tower Hamlets | 593 |
Medway | 592 |
Westminster | 588 |
Salford | 583 |
Oldham | 582 |
Warrington | 578 |
Luton | 575 |
Trafford | 574 |
Camden | 567 |
East Sussex | 552 |
Solihull | 544 |
East Riding of Yorkshire | 539 |
Haringey | 539 |
Kirklees | 533 |
Knowsley | 516 |
Middlesbrough | 509 |
South Tyneside | 501 |
Wakefield | 494 |
Nottingham | 488 |
Cornwall and Isles of Scilly | 482 |
Derby | 466 |
Shropshire | 464 |
Somerset | 464 |
Central Bedfordshire | 457 |
Kensington and Chelsea | 456 |
Reading | 454 |
North Tyneside | 450 |
Barking and Dagenham | 448 |
Southampton | 444 |
Tameside | 444 |
Milton Keynes | 443 |
Kingston upon Thames | 435 |
Bury | 434 |
Doncaster | 426 |
Bedford | 424 |
Stoke-on-Trent | 424 |
Kingston upon Hull, City of | 422 |
Rochdale | 417 |
Blackpool | 413 |
Islington | 406 |
Wiltshire | 405 |
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole | 400 |
Slough | 370 |
Wokingham | 362 |
Richmond upon Thames | 358 |
Brighton and Hove | 354 |
Swindon | 350 |
South Gloucestershire | 339 |
Stockton-on-Tees | 334 |
North Lincolnshire | 329 |
West Berkshire | 312 |
Halton | 309 |
Blackburn with Darwen | 301 |
Dorset | 301 |
Redcar and Cleveland | 297 |
Southend-on-Sea | 290 |
Herefordshire, County of | 282 |
Portsmouth | 281 |
Plymouth | 273 |
Thurrock | 269 |
York | 258 |
Darlington | 253 |
Telford and Wrekin | 244 |
Windsor and Maidenhead | 240 |
Calderdale | 231 |
Peterborough | 223 |
North Somerset | 218 |
Bracknell Forest | 205 |
Bath and North East Somerset | 203 |
Torbay | 200 |
Hartlepool | 167 |
North East Lincolnshire | 130 |
Isle of Wight | 104 |
Rutland | 20 |
City of London | 16 |
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
'Like a sound from hell': Serbia and sonic weapons
The Explainer Half a million people sign petition alleging Serbian police used an illegal 'sound cannon' to disrupt anti-government protests
By Abby Wilson Published
-
Is the 'coalition of the willing' going to work?
Today's Big Question PM's proposal for UK/French-led peacekeeping force in Ukraine provokes 'hostility' in Moscow and 'derision' in Washington
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Quiz of The Week: 22 - 28 March
Have you been paying attention to The Week's news?
By The Week Staff Published
-
Five years on: How Covid changed everything
Feature We seem to have collectively forgotten Covid’s horrors, but they have completely reshaped politics
By The Week US Published
-
HMPV is spreading in China but there's no need to worry
The Explainer Respiratory illness is common in winter
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Marty Makary: the medical contrarian who will lead the FDA
In the Spotlight What Johns Hopkins surgeon and commentator Marty Makary will bring to the FDA
By David Faris Published
-
Long Covid: study shows damage to brain's 'control centre'
The Explainer Research could help scientists understand long-term effects of Covid-19 as well as conditions such as MS and dementia
By The Week UK Published
-
FDA OKs new Covid vaccine, available soon
Speed read The CDC recommends the new booster to combat the widely-circulating KP.2 strain
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Mpox: how dangerous is new health emergency?
Today's Big Question Spread of potentially deadly sub-variant more like early days of HIV than Covid, say scientists
By The Week UK Published
-
What is POTS and why is it more common now?
The explainer The condition affecting young women
By Devika Rao, The Week US Last updated
-
Brexit, Matt Hancock and black swans: five takeaways from Covid inquiry report
The Explainer UK was 'unprepared' for pandemic and government 'failed' citizens with flawed response, says damning report
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published