Omicron Covid cases are rising the fastest in London, the East Midlands and the South East, according to a new report.
The figures, published by the UK Health and Security Agency (UKHSA) on Wednesday night, are the first to show the hotspots for the new strain in England.
It comes as a further 249 cases of the variant were identified on Thursday, bringing the total to 817, according to the UKHSA.
In the two weeks to Sunday 5 December, there were 27 confirmed cases of the new variant in West Northamptonshire and eight confirmed cases in Croydon, Hackney, Lambeth, Newham and Lewisham.
Seven confirmed Omicron cases were detected in Brent, Buckinghamshire, Greenwich, plus six in Wandsworth.
In addition, genomic testing had discovered cases where there had been a “S gene drop-out” (SGTF) in the virus that is not seen in the Delta variant and is likely to be a proxy for Omicron.
The “majority” of the 705 suspected Omicron cases were located in London and the South East, the report said.
In the week to Sunday, there were 55 such cases in West Northamptonshire, 18 in Lewisham, 15 in Buckinghamshire, 14 in Newham, nine in Greenwich, eight in Lambeth, seven in Brent, six in Hackney and Wandsworth and two in Croydon.
The UKHSA has estimated that the true number of infections will be approximately 20 times higher than the number of confirmed cases.
Speaking to MPs on Wednesday, Health Secretary Sajid Javid said the real number of Omicron cases (which at the time was 568) was “probably closer to 10,000”.
Delta cases had doubled in around seven days, he continued, but for Omicron “based on the latest data from here and around the world, our latest analysis is that it’s been around, it’s between two-and-a-half and three days”.
At the current observed doubling rate of two-and-a-half to three days, he estimated that cases could exceed one million by the end of the month.
Meanwhile, new figures show London, eastern England and the South East are seeing their highest case rates since January.
In the South East, a total of 648.5 new cases per 100,000 people were recorded in the week to 5 December - the highest since 3 January.
Eastern England is at 552.4 cases per 100,000, its highest rate since the week to 10 January.
In London, the rate stands at 461.1 per 100,000, the highest since the week ending 17 January.
The figures, published in the UKHSA’s latest weekly surveillance report, show case rates have increased across all regions and ethnic groups across England.
Areas with the highest confirmed Omicron cases in England (November 22 to December 5)
- West Northamptonshire, East Midlands: 27
- Croydon, London: 8
- Hackney, London: 8
- Lambeth, London: 8
- Newham, London: 8
- Brent, London: 7
- Buckinghamshire, South East: 7
- Greenwich, London: 7
- Lewisham, London: 7
- Wandsworth, London: 6
Areas with the highest SGTF* cases in England (November 22 to December 5)
- West Northamptonshire, East Midlands: 56
- Lewisham, London: 19
- Buckinghamshire, South East: 15
- Newham, London: 14
- Greenwich, London: 9
- Lambeth, London: 8
- Brent, London: 7
- Wandsworth, London: 7
Hackney, London: 6
- Croydon, London: 2
*SGTF cases that have been identified to be Omicron or ruled out as other variants not included
