Covid rates fall below 50 per 100,000 across half of UK

Covid rates have fallen below 50 cases per 100,000 people in half of local areas across the UK – with some areas reporting rates in single figures.

The new data marks a major turnaround from one month ago, when just six (or 1.5%) of 380 local areas experienced case rates below 50 per 100,000.

The watershed rate has been adopted by governments and health agencies as the level below which cases can be effectively contact-traced, and above which hospitals are likely to be overwhelmed.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ranks Covid case rates above 50 per 100,000 as "high" or "very high", while below 50 is "moderate" or "low".

More than half of local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales report case rates below this threshold – in Northern Ireland, just two of 11 local areas are currently below it.

The highest rate in the UK, for the week up to March 5, was 149.2 per 100,000 in South Derbyshire – much lower than the maximum of 515.9 in Rutland the previous week.

The London borough of Barking and Dagenham reported a case rate of 1,635.5 at the peak of the second wave, in early January – latest figures from there suggest a rate of just 56.8.

Meanwhile, the Shetland Islands reported a rate of just 4.4 and the Orkney Islands did not report any Covid cases, in the last week for which data – compiled by news agency PA from health authority records – is available.

The steep fall suggests that lockdown measures in place since January are continuing to reduce the number of new reported Covid cases, PA concludes.

National case rates per 100,000 population for each of the four UK nations are as follows:

• England – 60.8 (lowest since September 23)
• Northern Ireland – 65.0 (lowest since September 23)
• Scotland – 62.9 (lowest since September 25)
• Wales – 42.8 (lowest since September 17)