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England’s deputy chief medical officer Professor Jonathan Van-Tam gave a press conference this morning on the current data surrounding the coronavirus pandemic in the country. Flanked by the medical director of NHS England Professor Stephen Powis and medical lead in Greater Manchester Dr Jane Eddleston, the expert showed a series of maps and charts detailing the second wave of COVID-19 across Britain.

The data showed the number of cases, hospitalisations, deaths and the rate of increase across England in recent days.

This came before Prime Minister Boris Johnson is due to give a press conference on the latest Government restrictions.

A wealth of stricter rules known as a three-tier system are due to come into effect in the coming days.

Mr Johnson will confirm this at 3.30pm in a speech to the House of Commons, before addressing the nation at around 6pm tonight.

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Professor Van-Tam said during the conference today it was of “concern” coronavirus was “heating up” in more of England than a week ago.

Speaking as he explained a map showing the rate of change per 100,000 population by local authority between September 23 to 29 and September 30 to October 6.

He said: “It has changed in a matter of just a few days and that is clearly of concern to me.”

There are now more patients in hospital than in March when the Government first ordered a nationwide lockdown.

Dr Eddleston called on Britons to “respect the virus” as she revealed 30 percent of beds occupied in hospitals in Greater Manchester were coronavirus patients.

She also explained how a quarter of those admitted to intensive care require mechanical ventilation within 24hours.

There has been a threefold increase in patients admitted to intensive care in the past five weeks.

Now areas are said to be following the North West in the pattern of coronavirus spread.

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In terms of cases, there are 63 Upper Tier Authority (UTA) areas with cases of coronavirus above 1,000 per 100,000 of the population.

Of these, nine areas have seen cases soar to more than 2,000 per 100,000 of the population.

Top of the list is Knowsley, with 2,450.6 cases per 100,000, followed by Oldham with 2,355 cases per 100,000.

The third is Blackburn with Darwen with 2,318 cases per 100,000 and fourth is Manchester with 2,283.6 cases per 100,000 of the population.

Fifth is Liverpool with 2,253.6 cases per 100,000, following confirmation from the city’s leaders that the Army is being brought in to provide “logistics and capacity support” as a tier-three lockdown looms.

Area and rate per 100,000 population

1. Knowsley – 2,450.6

2. Oldham – 2,355

3. Blackburn with Darwen – 2,318

4. Manchester – 2,283.6

5. Liverpool – 2,253.6

6. Leicester – 2,242.1

7. Bradford – 2,162.6

8. Bolton – 2,151.3

9. Rochdale – 2,129.8

10. Newcastle upon Tyne – 1,972.1

11. Bury – 1,946.2

12. St. Helens – 1,860.1

13. Merthyr Tydfil – 1,840

14. Tameside – 1,802.3

15. Salford – 1,788

16. Halton – 1,737.1

17. Sheffield – 1,735.3

18. South Tyneside – 1,710.9

19. Sefton – 1,710.5

20. Nottingham – 1,699.6

21. Sunderland – 1,671.6

22. Derry City and Strabane – 1,667.7

23. Warrington – 1,648

24. Wirral – 1,644.7

25. Leeds – 1,614.2

26. Wigan – 1,598

27. Rhondda Cynon Taf 1,569.2

28. Gateshead – 1,516.4

29. Middlesbrough – 1,513.7

30. Trafford – 1,503.7

31. Lancashire – 1,493.9

32. Hartlepool – 1,441.3

33. Rotherham – 1,415.2

34. Wrexham – 1,365.9

35. Kirklees – 1,357.7

36. Barnsley – 1,353

37. Stockport – 1,352.3

38. County Durham – 1,331.3

39. Belfast – 1,316.6

40. Blackpool- 1,315.9

41. Birmingham – 1,283

42. Glasgow City – 1,238.6

43. North Tyneside – 1,235.1

44. Blaenau Gwent – 1,193.8

45. Sandwell – 1,189.8

46. Stockton-on-Tees – 1,170

47. Calderdale – 1,161.5

48. Northumberland – 1,138.2

49. Denbighshire – 1,131.7

50. Wakefield – 1,106.5

51. Luton – 1,098.3

52. Darlington – 1,094.5

53. Bedford – 1,083.1

54. Cardiff – 1,076

55. Doncaster – 1,072.8

56. Dundee City – 1,058.1

57. Cheshire West and Chester – 1,051.1

58. West Dunbartonshire – 1,042.4

59. Walsall – 1,024.6

60. Peterborough – 1,018.5

61. Wolverhampton – 1,016.1

62. Cheshire East – 1,007.7

63. Redcar and Cleveland – 1,001.1

Prof Van-Tam also warned during the conference coronavirus was spreading from younger age groups into those aged over 60.

He said: ”There is the spread from those younger age groups into the 60 plus age group in the North West and the North East, and there are rates of change in the same places but also extending a little further south.

“And this is again of significant concern… because of course the elderly suffer a much worse course with Covid-19, they are admitted to hospital for longer periods, and they are more difficult to save.”

And England’s deputy medical officer said the rise in coronavirus cases was now being seen “nationwide” and was not solely a problem for northern England.

Addressing a slide shown earlier in the briefing about rates increasing in the South of England, he said: “You have worried me now that I might have presented a bi-polar picture that COVID-19 is a problem in the North and not a problem in the South.

“On the contrary, the epidemic this time has clearly picked up pace in the North of England earlier than it did in the first wave and that almost certainly relates to the fact the disease levels in the North, and certainly in the North West, never dropped as far in the summer as they did in the South.

“But pretty much all areas of the UK are now seeing growths in the infection rate and that extending brown map that I showed you, which is sourced from the Joint Biosecurity Centre, absolutely makes that point.

“This is a nationwide phenomenon now that rates are changing upwards across the UK.”

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