Coronavirus spreading faster in Sheffield than in any other city outside London

Coronavirus is spreading faster in Sheffield than in any other city outside of London, new figures from Public Health England have shown.
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The data shows Sheffield as having the second-highest number of reported cases in the country, behind the capital but ahead of other bigger cities such as Birmingham.

Other places in the top five worst-affected areas include Birkenhead, Slough and Derby.

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The study - which has been conducted by the Centre for Cities - notes ‘the ratio of cases confirmed in Sheffield has rapidly increased over the last few days, more rapidly than other cities of similar size’.

Last week, director of public health Greg Fell said one reason why there may be more reported cases in Sheffield than in other cities was our status as a testing centre for the disease.

He said: “I understand that people may find the reported number of cases in Sheffield worrying, but the data is simply a reflection that there is more testing happening here currently than in some other areas and so by default we know about more positive cases.

“This doesn’t necessarily mean that there's more chance of being infected here than other parts of Yorkshire.”

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However, as testing in the community stopped more than two weeks ago, far more people are thought to have the disease than the official figures show.

Sheffield has the second-highest number of confirmed cases, after London (table: Centre for Cities).Sheffield has the second-highest number of confirmed cases, after London (table: Centre for Cities).
Sheffield has the second-highest number of confirmed cases, after London (table: Centre for Cities).

And new concerns have been raised that not all deaths due to the disease are being registered, with fatalities in care homes not yet counting towards the Government announcements.

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