Bolton continues to have the highest rate Covid-19 case rates for local authorities in England.

The town was followed by Bedford and Blackburn with Darwen in the lastest figures, for the seven days to May 13. These 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.

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

Data for the most recent four days (May 14-17) has been excluded as it is incomplete and does not reflect the true number of cases.

Of the 315 local areas in England, 150 (48%) have seen a rise in rates, 143 (45%) have seen a fall and 22 are unchanged.

Bolton in Greater Manchester continues to have the highest rate, with 811 new cases in the seven days to May 13 – the equivalent of 282.0 cases per 100,000 people.

This is up from 133.9 in the seven days to May 6.

Bedford has the second highest rate, up from 61.2 to 123.5, with 214 new cases.

Blackburn with Darwen in Lancashire has the third highest, up from 84.8 to 117.6, with 176 new cases.

The five areas with the biggest week-on-week rises are:

Bolton (up from 133.9 to 282.0)
Bedford (61.2 to 123.5)
Burnley (20.2 to 56.2)
Blackburn with Darwen (84.8 to 117.6)
Melton (23.4 to 52.7)

The list has been calculated by the PA news agency based on Public Health England data published on May 17 on the Government’s coronavirus dashboard.

May 13; rate of new cases in the seven days to May 6; number (in brackets) of new cases recorded in the seven days to May 6.

Here are the latest rates for the North West

Bolton, 282.0, (811), 133.9, (385)
Blackburn with Darwen, 117.6, (176), 84.8, (127)
Burnley, 56.2, (50), 20.2, (18)
Manchester, 44.9, (248), 38.2, (211)
Rochdale, 44.5, (99), 42.3, (94)
Pendle, 44.5, (41), 20.6, (19)
Hyndburn, 42.0, (34), 49.4, (40)
Oldham, 16.9, (40), 29.1, (69)
Liverpool, 10.6, (53), 12.4, (62)
Wirral, 8.6, (28), 8.3, (27)