Some UK areas have higher coronavirus rates than countries on quarantine list

Holidaymakers returning to face quarantine in the UK could be coming home to towns or cities with higher coronavirus rates than the sun-soaked places they have left.
By Aine Fox and Ian Jones, PA
Published 21st Aug 2020, 16:08 BST
A medical worker wearing protective gear delivers a report of a COVID-19 test to a passenger of a flight from Valencia, Spain, at Rome's Ciampino airport. (AP Photo/Riccardo De Luca)A medical worker wearing protective gear delivers a report of a COVID-19 test to a passenger of a flight from Valencia, Spain, at Rome's Ciampino airport. (AP Photo/Riccardo De Luca)
A medical worker wearing protective gear delivers a report of a COVID-19 test to a passenger of a flight from Valencia, Spain, at Rome's Ciampino airport. (AP Photo/Riccardo De Luca)

The Government’s threshold for considering quarantine measures is when a country records a seven-day rate of more than 20 cases per 100,000 people.

But a number of local authority areas in England have much higher rates than that.

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The latest figures on Thursday showed that Oldham in Greater Manchester, which is already subject to restrictive measures on households being able to meet, had a rate of 78.9 per 100,000 people.

Northampton is almost level on 78.4, while Blackburn with Darwen is third, where the rate has fallen from 81.5 to 67.5.

In Leicester, which was subject to the UK’s first local lockdown, the rate continues to fall, but was still at 52.5.

Meanwhile, according to the Croatian Government the rate of confirmed cases in Dubrovnik was 16.5 per 100,000 – well below the country’s overall rate as indicated by the UK’s Department for Transport this week of 27.4 per 100,000.

The country’s rate had risen to 31.4 by Friday.

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In the seven days to August 17, the rate of confirmed cases in Zagreb was 37.9 per 100,000.

Croatia’s ambassador to the UK said he regretted that the Government here had not taken a regional approach, instead of enforcing a quarantine for people returning from any part of the country.

Igor Pokaz told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “In Croatia we have, as I said, witnessed these spikes in certain areas – for example in Zagreb in the capital and maybe among the young population.

“But in Dubrovnik, its surroundings and the islands there were very, very few cases. And I deliberately mention Dubrovnik and the islands as that is where most of the British tourists go. ”

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Austria’s latest rate was 21.2 new cases per 100,000 people, up from 11.8 in the previous seven days.

Trinidad & Tobago, which was named alongside Austria and Croatia regarding quarantine measures on Thursday, had a rate of 26.0 per 100,000, up from 13.9.

The rates in Spain and France, which are subject to quarantine for returning travellers, are 86.4 and 30.5 respectively.

Spain’s rate has risen from 58.5, indicating UK sunseekers might face quarantine if travelling there for another while.

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Portugal, which was moved on to the UK’s safe list on Thursday, has a latest rate of 14.1, down slightly from 14.5.

The UK’s latest rate for the seven days to August 20 was 11 cases per 100,000 people.

Related topics:HolidaymakersOldhamGovernmentLeicesterBBC Radio 4Portugal