With lockdown restrictions set to ease next week on May 17, the number of Covid-19 cases in southeast London remains low - though infection rates are rising in the majority of boroughs.

Next week (May 17) will see many lockdown restrictions eased, allowing for indoor hospitality venues and pubs to finally reopen.

With Covid symptoms taking up to two weeks to develop, the coming month will be a crucial test for whether lockdown restrictions can fully ease in June.

The latest figures, for the seven days to May 6, are based on the number of people who have tested positive for Covid-19 in either a lab-reported or rapid lateral flow test, by specimen date.

Data for the most recent four days (May 7-10) has been excluded as it is incomplete and does not reflect the true number of cases.

The infection rate is expressed as the number of new cases per 100,000 people.

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Bexley recorded the biggest increase in its rate of infection, rising from a rate of 12.9 cases per 100,000 people to 16.9 - equating to 42 new cases, up from 32 cases the previous week.

 

Greenwich recorded the highest infection rate in southeast London, also recording a moderate rise in cases, with its rate of infection increasing from 17.0 cases per 100,000 people to 19.4, with 56 new cases this week compared to 49 in the dataset from the previous week.

Bromley was the only borough in southeast London recorded to have a lowering rate, with the latest data putting the infection rate at 13.8 (46 new cases), down from 15.0 (50 new cases) in the preceding week.

In north Kent, Dartford was recorded as having an infection rate of 19.5 (22 new cases), up from 16.0 (18 new cases) previously.

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Lewisham's infection rate is currently the lowest in southeast London, though also saw a rise from the previous set of figures.

The infection rate in Lewisham is currently recorded at 13.4 (41 new cases), up from 12.4 (38 new cases) in the previous week.

The list has been calculated by the PA news agency based on Public Health England data published on May 10 on the Government’s coronavirus dashboard.

Of the 315 local areas in England, 107 (34%) have seen a rise in rates, 196 (62%) have seen a fall and 12 are unchanged.