Six areas in England have see a worrying weekly rise in Covid cases, Health Secretary Matt Hancock warned this evening as the government refuses to rule out a return to local lockdowns.
In a briefing from Downing Street, Mr Hancock said that rising infections in Bolton in Greater Manchester, Blackburn in Lancashire, Bedford in Bedfordshire, Kirklees in West Yorkshire, Burnley in Lancashire and Hounslow in west London have been recorded.
They are the country's worst affected hotspots according to latest data, with all of them having seen a significant week-on-week rise in cases.
Latest Public Health England figures reveal that 135 of the country's 315 local authority areas - 43 per cent - saw a rise in infections.