Coronavirus has hit the UK hard, with the country recording more than 4m cases and 127,000 deaths linked to the disease.
The government figures below include confirmed cases only – some people who have the disease are not tested.
Where are the UK’s current coronavirus hotspots?
At the start of the pandemic, London bore the brunt of coronavirus’s impact. After that, the centre of the virus shifted northwards and to areas in Northern Ireland before rising again in London and the south-east.
Everyday life in the UK has been subject to varying degrees of restriction since March 2020, and various national lockdowns currently apply in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. These regulations are set by the legislative body in each nation so there are local differences.
Details of the English lockdown are listed here, Scottish lockdown here, Welsh here and Northern Irish here.
How is the disease progressing in the UK?
Cases in the UK first peaked in early April 2020, before falling in late spring and summer. Numbers started to increase again in the autumn, falling back briefly in November before reaching a record level in January 2021. Since then cases have declined sharply, though this fall has flattened out in March. The number of tests available affects the number of recorded cases.
The number of people in hospital with coronavirus rose sharply after records started at the end of March 2020, peaking in April. That figure began rising again in September and reached a new record in January 2021, though in line with cases, has since declined.
Deaths surpassed their first-wave peak in January 2021, with daily deaths once again standing at over 1,000.
Since UK regulators approved the Pfizer vaccine in December, the UK’s vaccine rollout has picked up pace. Hundreds of thousands of people are now being vaccinated every day.
Is the UK rolling out the vaccine fast enough?
The government plans to offer 32 million people (nearly half the population) a first dose of the vaccine by the middle of April. This means vaccinating all nine priority groups, including everyone over 50, all clinically vulnerable people and frontline health and social care workers.
The government successfully reached its target of offering the first vaccine dose to everyone in the top four priority groups by mid-February.
How UK testing capacity has expanded
The UK’s testing capacity has increased significantly since the first wave. This meant that, when the second wave hit, a higher proportion of cases were caught on record, pushing up the overall number of recorded cases.
Daily testing hit half a million in December, as the second wave began to take off, and reached 1m when schools returned in early March.
In the first wave, daily testing capacity was under 50,000 throughout April 2020 as the UK grappled with the beginning of the pandemic.
How are case rates changing?
Lockdown has brought down case rates for everyone. But different age groups have been affected differently. Throughout the pandemic working-age people aged between 20 and 60 have had the highest levels of infection. Meanwhile the over-60s have had an overall lower case rate, largely because they are more able to self-isolate.
Under-20s have also had a relatively low case rate. Scientists suggest that coronavirus is less transmissible for children, although the impact of reopening schools in England on 8 March remains to be seen.
Find coronavirus cases near you
In the table below, you can find out the number of cases per 100,000 in your area, both for the last week and since the start of the pandemic.
About this data
This data comes comes from Public Health England, working with devolved authorities in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland.
Differences in data collection and publishing schedules may lead to temporary inconsistencies. 3 and 4 October cases totals include cases from previous days published late owing to a technical fault.
The government figures for deaths that are used in this tracker incorporate any deaths that have occurred within 28 days of a positive test. This means they are able to quickly capture deaths occurring in hospitals and care homes, both settings where testing is widespread.
The ONS, along with its counterparts in Scotland and Northern Ireland, captures deaths data differently. They count all deaths where Covid is on the death certificate. About 90% of these deaths are directly due to Covid while it is a contributory factor in the remaining deaths.
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Due to the unprecedented and ongoing nature of the coronavirus outbreak, this article is being regularly updated to ensure that it reflects the current situation as well as possible. Any significant corrections made to this or previous versions of the article will continue to be footnoted in line with Guardian editorial policy.
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