FIVE areas in Bradford are currently in the grip of major Covid breakouts, as the virus continues to spread at pace across the district and the rest of the country.

All five of the areas currently have infection rates in excess of 800 cases per 100,000 people, with the worst hit area’s rate over 1,000, meaning more than one in 100 people in the area currently have Covid.

Case numbers have skyrocketed in recent weeks, driven by the Delta variant, and has also led to an increase in hospitalisations in Bradford and across England, with unvaccinated under 40s said to be some of the most ill patients currently in hospital.

The surge in case numbers comes as all Covid-19 restrictions were dropped on Monday, with fears from some that this will cause case numbers to rise even further and potentially put the NHS at risk of being under serious pressure.

The five areas in Bradford with the worst Covid-19 infection rates are:

  1. Oakworth & Laycock – 1,121.1 infections per 100,000 people
  2. Keighley Exley Head – 894.6
  3. Keighley South – 889.2
  4. Idle – 830.1
  5. Wrose & Bolton Woods – 829.8

Businesses have also raised fears that the spread of cases is leading to more people being ‘pinged’ by the NHS Covid app and told to self-isolate, with some hospitality businesses having to close because their staff are all having to self-isolate.

The current infection rate in Bradford 509.5 infections per 100,000 people, meaning one in 200 people in the district currently have Covid-19, with 2,750 new infections in the seven days to July 14, a 43 per cent rise from a week before.

The current situation is a stark contrast to the rate two months ago, when on May 19 the infection rate was only 48.1 infections per 100,000 people, with only 261 cases in the whole district.

In the UK there were almost 55,000 new cases on July 17, the highest numbers since the third wave of the virus in January. The UK’s current infection rate is 399.6, while England’s is 426.1 and Yorkshire’s is 536.5.

Bradford’s infection rate, while high, is still a long way off the worst local authorities in the country. Redcar & Cleveland and South Tyneside both have infection rates in excess of 1,200, Middlesbrough’s is at 1,178, and it is over 1,000 in Hartlepool and Sunderland, and there are 64 local authorities in the UK where the infection rate is worse than in Bradford.