One hundred coronavirus cases indentified in Wakefield as testing reveals new hotspots

Testing has revealed new coronavirus hotspots.

With the number of new cases on the decline and efforts under way to release blanket restrictions, attention is shifting to the pockets of the country where the virus continues to spread.

Lockdowns on towns seeing spikes in infection rates are set to be part of the ‘test and trace’ system being introduced in England from Thursday, May 28.

A total of 627 coronavirus cases were recorded in the Wakefield district as of May 9, rising to 729 up until May 23.

The additional 102 cases identified during that fortnight means there was a 29.3 rate per 100,000 of the population from May 9 to May 23.

In the JPI Data Unit rankings of hotspots, Wakefield is 72 of 313 local authority areas in England.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: “We will have local lockdowns in future where there are flare-ups.

“We have a system that we are putting in place with a combination of Public Health England and the new Joint Biosecurity Centre, along with the local directors of public health, who play an absolutely crucial role in decision-making in this system, to make sure if there is a local flare-up, we have a local lockdown.”

Ashford in Kent saw the highest rate of people testing positive for coronavirus in the two weeks to May 23, JPIMedia analysis of official figures shows. It had 143 new cases, equivalent to 110 for every 100,000 people.

West Devon, in contrast, saw no new cases over the same time period.

Devolved governments in Scotland and Northern Ireland have set out their own contact tracing plans.

Scotland rolled out its ‘Test and Protect’ system on Thursday, May 28.

It will mean an army of up to 2,000 tracers working to find anyone who has been in contact with those who test positive for coronavirus.

Northern Ireland was the first of the UK nations to begin a contact tracing programme.

Anyone in England with coronavirus symptoms can now get a test. People who test positive will be contacted and asked to log on to the NHS Test and Trace website.