CORONAVIRUS infection rates are soaring in a handful of areas including Leeds and Bristol which have so far managed to escape being hit by tougher restrictions.
The number of infections in some areas have jumped by more than 60 per cent in a week as local authorities scramble to get on top of spiralling cases.
Stockton-on-Tees, with an infection rate of 444.4 per 100,000 – up from 360 the week before, is at the top of the list of places at risk of tumbling into Tier 3.
And Leeds, with 420.6 cases per 100,000 isn’t far behind.
There were more than 3,300 new infections in Leeds last week.
The infection rate in Bristol soared by roughly 50 per cent in the last week, with 340 cases per 100,000, up from 227 per 100,000.
That translates to an extra 500 cases in just one week.
And the city is still only in Tier 1 – the lowest Covid alert level.
London was given Tier 2 restrictions earlier this month despite much smaller infection numbers across most of the capital.
Ministers and top experts have stressed one of the crucial decisive factors on whether to roll out new restrictions is based on new hospital admissions.