Covid case rates in North West rise to highest level in three months
The area saw the largest increase across the country.
Coronavirus case rates in the north-west of England have risen to their highest level in three months.
The area saw the largest increase across the country, although all regions have seen a rise.
The North West had 87.4 cases per 100,000 people in the seven days to May 30, up week-on-week from 53.7.
This is the highest for the region since the week ending February 28, and is also the highest of any region in England.
According to the latest weekly surveillance report from Public Health England (PHE), the South West has the lowest rate: 9.4, up very slightly week-on-week from 9.1.
Case rates in England among all age groups have risen, with the highest rate among 10 to 19-year-olds.
In this group there were 72.3 cases per 100,000 people in the seven days to May 30, up week-on-week from 55.1.
The second highest rate is among 20 to 29-year-olds, up from 31.6 to 52.0.
This is also the age group to see the biggest week-on-week increase.
PHE said the number of reported acute respiratory incidents in the past week had risen compared with the previous week "with the most notable increase in educational settings incidents".
It said Sars-CoV-2 - the virus that causes Covid-19 - was identified in the majority of those cases.
It added that a decrease in deaths with coronavirus is "likely to reflect the impact of both social and physical distancing measures and the vaccination programme'".