Northern Ireland and Wales are recording their highest rates of new cases of Covid-19 since January, as the third wave of coronavirus continues to pick up pace across the UK, new figures show.
Fermanagh & Omagh in the south-west of Northern Ireland also has the highest rate of any local authority in the UK, with a total of 1,003.9 cases per 100,000 people recorded in the seven days to August 18th.
This is the first time that any local authority in Northern Ireland has recorded rates over 1,000 since comparable records began in summer 2020, when mass testing was first introduced.
The figures show how the third wave of coronavirus, which began in the UK at the end of May of this year, is once again on the rise after a period last month when it appeared cases may have peaked.
Around two-thirds (67 per cent) of all local authority areas across the UK are currently recording an increase in case rates, including every area in Wales, all but one area in Northern Ireland (Mid Ulster) and all areas on mainland Scotland, according to analysis by the PA news agency.
Northern Ireland’s rate of new cases currently stands at 579.5 per 100,000 people, the highest since January 8th, while Wales is now at 297.4 per 100,000, the highest since January 16th.