August 4, 2021 8.53 am This story is over 30 months old

Lincoln becomes UK COVID epicentre, as city centre rates triple

The highest rate in the UK

Lincoln has the highest COVID infection rate in the whole of the UK, according to the latest government data – thanks largely to a spike in the centre of the city.

The government’s daily case tables, based on lab-reported or lateral flow positive tests, for the seven days up to July 29 showed Lincoln had recorded a rate of 653.6 per 100,000 of the population.

As of August 4, it’s the highest rate in the UK – above Belfast (650 per 100,000 of the population) and Middlesborough (573.1).

A total of 649 positive cases were recorded in the city.

Local data broken down by wards shows the case rate shot up to 1,250.2 per 100,000 people in the city centre (Wharf & University), with 137 positive cases recorded – a rise of 197.8%.

There was also a significant rise in the Pelham Bridge and South Common area.

Data recorded in the city over the seven days up to July 29 shows:

  • Cathedral & West Common – 79 cases (75.6% rise), 645.1 per 100,000
  • Monks Road, St Giles & Greetwell – 97 cases (177.1% rise), 798.2 per 100,000
  • Pelham Bridge & South Common – 60 cases (233.3% rise), 792.3 per 100,000
  • Boultham & New Boultham – 58 cases (114.8% rise), 625.5 per 100,000
  • Hartsholme & Birchwood East – 33 cases (22.2% rise), 413.4 per 100,000

For more localised data, visit the government website here.

Despite the recent spike, the numbers for Lincoln are still lower than the case rate recorded at its peak in January.

Generally, cases are coming down across the county.

As reported previously, the rise in city centre cases has been attributed to the city’s nighttime economy.

Public Health Lincolnshire said that a particularly significant spike had been traced back to one of the city’s central nightclubs.

Natalie Liddle from Outbreak Management at the health body told BBC Radio Lincolnshire that Lincoln and Lincolnshire have traditionally been behind the national trend. The spike recorded, she added, is an expected lag, exacerbated by the lifting of lockdown.

“We have seen a rise in Lincolnshire following the normal pattern. Nationally those cases rose, as we saw in the region, and then began to come down and we have always tended to lag behind that trend. What we’re seeing is that natural spike that we would normally have, unfortunately for us that has coincided with the fact we have come out of lockdown.

“We’re managing a cluster of outbreaks in and around Lincoln. We have seen a particular increase in cases that are linked to nightclubs and the nighttime economy.”