Interactive map shows where cases of Indian Covid variant are across country

An interactive map has today revealed where the Indian variant of coronavirus is spreading the fastest after data showed the mutant virus is dominant in 23 towns, sparking fears that the government's plan to ease all coronavirus restrictions on June 21 may be in jeopardy.

There has been a 44 per cent increase in the number of areas in England detecting the Indian variant over the past week. The variant - B.1.617.2 - was found in 127 out of 314 local authorities in the week ending May 8, up from 71 in the week before.

However, most areas have less than five cases, and Dorset has none at all, according to data provided by map creators Wellcome Sanger Institute.

The data shows Indian variant hotspots in London, some parts of the south and Midlands, and across much of north west – particularly in Bolton and Blackburn with Darwen.

The most infected area in England is Bolton, with an average number of weekly Indian variant cases of 210, according to the institute’s analysis of fully processed cases over the past fortnight.

Almost 3,000 cases of the Indian variant have been identified in the UK – up from the 2,323 declared on Monday – and surge testing has been announced in a number of areas in a bid to control its spread.

Prof Van-Tam told a Downing Street press conference on Wednesday: “I pitch this personally as a straight race between the transmissibility of this new variant … and vaccine delivery.

“The NHS is doing everything it can to turbo-boost that, and that is the challenge that’s ahead of us in the next two to three to four weeks, to make sure that we outrun the virus through really vigorous pull-through on vaccine delivery.”

Prof Van-Tam said scientists would have more information by next week on how transmissible the Indian variant is versus the Kent strain, which has become dominant in the UK.

Experts had feared it could be up to 50% more transmissible, but the Government adviser suggested studies could find it is only half that.

The spread of the variant of concern had cast doubt on next month’s plans to ease the remaining restrictions in England, but Boris Johnson told the Commons his administration had “increasing confidence” that vaccines would prove effective against it.

The local authority areas reporting cases of the Indian variant include: 

Bolton

Blackburn with Darwen

Sefton

Bedford

Nottingham

Leicester

S. Northamptonshire

Hounslow

Wigan

Croydon

C. Bedfordshire

Hillingdon

Brent

Ealing

Harrow

Bromley

Chelmsford

Gedling

Rochdale

Birmingham

Manchester

Sandwell

Enfield

Greenwich

Canterbury

Chorley

Barnet

Aylesbury Vale

Barking and Dagen.

Bury

Tower Hamlets

Preston

Wolverhampton

E. Northamptonshire

Salford

Bexley

Lewisham

N. Lincolnshire

Milton Keynes

Pendle

Broxtowe

Liverpool

Coventry

Herefordshire

Luton

Three Rivers

Burnley

Trafford

Newham

Wiltshire

Sevenoaks

Stockport

Camden

Slough

Watford

Dartford

Tameside

Waltham Forest

Westminster

Reading

Cambridge

Rushmoor

Broxbourne

Northampton

Nuneaton and Bedworth

Oldham

North Tyneside

Dudley

Kirklees

Hull

Eastleigh

N.Herefordshire 

Rossendale

West Lancashire

Newcastle

Walsall

Havering

Kingston upon Thames

Lambeth

Southwark

Blackpool

Southampton

Cheshire East

Cheshire West and C.

High Peak

Hart

Test Valley

Dacorum

Oadby and Wigston

Breckland

Tamworth

E. Hertfordshire

Stevenage

St. Helens

Bradford

Leeds

Hackney

Haringey

Redbridge

Darlington

S. Gloucestershire

Bracknell Forest

County Durham

Brentwood

Colchester

Uttlesford

Dover

Tonbridge and Malling

Lancaster

Charnwood

N. Kesteven

W. Lindsey

S. Oxfordshire

Stafford

Spelthorne

Mid-Sussex

Worcester

Welwyn Hatfield

Hammersmith and Ful.

Kensington and Chelsea

Halton

Derby

Telford and Wrekin

Bath and NE Somerset

N. Somerset

Plymouth

Medway

Wokingham

Brighton and Hove

Isle of Wight

South Bucks

Huntingdonshire

S. Cambridgeshire

S. Lakeland

Derbyshire Dales

Harlow

Tendring

New Forest

Winchester

Hertsmere

Ashford

Maidstone

Tunbridge Wells

Fylde

Hyndburn

Ribble Valley

S. Ribble

East Lindsey

S. Norfolk

Corby

Selby

Mansfield

Vale of White Horse

Ipswich

Surrey Heath

Rugby

Warwick

Crawley

Knowsley

Wirral

Doncaster

Sutton