Local lockdowns: Data reveals highest infection rates in UK
A chilling map of the UK on Sky News showed the scale of coronavirus infection across the country, and revealed which region is most at risk of a local lockdown. According to the map, the North and North West of England have suffered some of the highest coronavirus infection rates in the country, in contrast to the South West, which has recorded some of the lowest rates. This comes after Boris Johnson handed councils in England extra powers to impose shutdowns if clusters of coronavirus appear.
However, the Transport Secretary Grant Shapps insisted central government would still step in if local authorities don't act fast enough.
According to the Sky News chart, areas wit the highest rates of infection per 100,000 people in the population were Leicester with 1263.4, Ashford with 1010.2 and Barrow-in-Furness with 890.7.
When lockdown was imposed in Leicester, the infection rate was 1,019 cases per 100,000 people.
On the opposite end, areas in the South-West of England recorded some of the lowest rates, with 77.8 in Torridge, 123.8 in North Devon, and 129.7 in West Devon.
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The Sky News presenter said: "There have been huge disparities between infection rates across England.
"The worst affected - Leicester and Ashford - have seen their infection rates rise past 1,000 infection cases per 100,000 population.
"You can see the disparity between the South-West and North-West clearly on the map.
"The darker colours show the areas with the highest infection rates. It's the South-West that has done the best throughout the crisis.
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"There are a few areas that have seen surges on their own - Leicester, for example.
"But most of them are clustered together in the North and North-West.
"Blackburn with Darmen, with 763 cases per 100,000 people, is an area singled out for concern but hasn't been locked down yet."
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She pointed to bordering areas in Lancashire to showcase the local disparities, with Preston suffering 822 cases per 100,000 while Ribble has just 326.
Professor Danny Altmann, from Imperial College London, said local lockdowns has to be done "with conviction and tools in place to nail things down in real time".
The new councils handed to councils mean they can now close specific premises, shut public outdoor spaces and cancel events.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the powers would "enable local authorities to act more quickly in response to outbreaks where speed is paramount".