Nottingham now has the highest rate of Covid-19 in England

2,294 people in the city tested positive this week.


The rate of Covid-19 has jumped to 689 cases per 100,000 people, up from 122.3 per 100,000 just a few days ago.

The week beginning 5th October saw 2,294 individuals test positive for the virus in Nottingham, a massive leap from the 407 people who were reported to have it the week before.

University of Nottingham students could make up around 18% of these cases – though the true proportion is unclear without updated statistics from the university; Nottingham Trent has not released any data on their students’ infection rates.

Local authorities are encouraging Notts residents to act as if the new restrictions have been put into place, requesting that individuals in the city to not mix indoors with others who are not in their household or support bubble.

City Council Leader, David Mellen, told the BBC how the local authorities “expected the government to support us by putting in restrictions today or tomorrow.”

He continued: “The fact that they are going to leave it until next Monday or Wednesday [to put more restrictions in place] is very worrying.

“That is why we have gone ahead of the government…suggesting people should stay within their households or support bubbles now but that is not enforceable until we have the governments support.

“If restrictions don’t come in until next Monday at the earliest, it is almost like a last chance for people to party and go out in a way that won’t be helpful to the spread of the virus.”

Based on Public Health England data released this afternoon, Nottingham has the highest case rate per 100,000 by a substantial margin, with the second worst affected area, Knowsley, sitting at 601.2 cases per 100,000.

Commenting on the situation in the city, Jonathan Gribbin, the Director for Public Health in Nottinghamshire, said:

“Covid-19 does not recognise geographical boundaries so we must stand together with our local authority partners to do all we can to fight this virus across all our communities… The rapid and sustained increase in the numbers of positive cases is a serious cause for concern and the very dramatic rates in the city are a clear sign that action is needed now across the whole of Nottingham and Nottinghamshire.”

This development comes after leaked documents suggested that the government will announce tighter restrictions on Nottingham  and data released by the University of Nottingham showed that 1 in 80 of its students had active cases of Covid-19.