People shopping in Wednesbury  (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)People shopping in Wednesbury  (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
People shopping in Wednesbury (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

Covid-19 cases rise again in Sandwell: 5 areas where infections are rising fastest

Coroanvirus cases are still rising in many neighbourhoods in Sandwell

The UK’s latest coronavirus wave has peaked and is now falling, official figures show.

There were 501,629 cases in the week ending March 31, a 17% drop from the week before.

The wave, linked to the highly contagious Omicron sub-variant BA.2, is now subsiding in all regions of the UK, the data shows.

At a regional level, Northern Ireland saw the biggest fall, with case numbers dropping by more than a third (36%) week-on-week.

Scotland still had the highest overall case rate in the week to March 31, with 1,071 cases per 100,000 residents - but this was a 24% fall from the week before.

The second highest rate was in South West England, with 980 cases per 100,000 residents.

The lowest case rate was in Wales, with 322 cases per 100,000 residents - although in Wales, lateral flow test results are not counted in the case numbers.

In Sandwell, cases increased slightly by 0.2% in the last week.

There were 1514 new cases of Covid diagnosed in the week ending March 31, compared with 1511 the week before.

The BA.2 wave has seen case rates hit the second highest level in the pandemic so far, after the Omicron wave of the past winter.

The high infection rates, and the resulting absences, are still causing disruption in schools and workplaces.

Across the UK, hospitalisations remain at high levels, although they are lower than the numbers seen during the lockdowns of 2020 and 2021.

BA.2 was given the nickname ‘stealth Omicron’ because it was more difficult to tell it apart from the Delta variant.

Experts believe the increased contagiousness of the sub-variant is a key reason for the current wave, alongside the waning effectiveness of boosters and the lifting of many restrictions.

At neighbourhood level, Covid-19 case rates have been published for the week to 1

The figures include people infected with Covid-19 for the first time as well as reinfections.

Here are the neighbourhoods in Sandwell with the biggest rise in case rates in the past week.

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