Bracknell Covid cases have spiked following the end of the second lockdown, with numbers of positive tests at their highest level since the beginning of the pandemic.
The government will review coronavirus restrictions on Wednesday, deciding which of the three tiers each area in England will be placed in.
With Bracknell, Wokingham and Reading's case numbers all rising significantly in the last week, each could face tougher restrictions, while West Berkshire’s case rate remains low but is also rising.
READ MORE: Council leader responds to claims Bracknell Forest is heading for tier three next week
In the last week with available data (December 2-8), there have been 245 cases in Bracknell with a rate of 199.9 per 100,000 people.
This compares to 127 cases the week before (November 25 – December 1).
Bracknell's case rate is now above both the average across the South East and in England, placing it in the top 60 across the UK.
Elsewhere in Berkshire, there have been 322 cases in Reading with a case rate of 199 per 100,000.
This compares to 234 cases the week before.
Wokingham cases are also on the rise, with 279 cases – a rate of 163 – compared to 173 cases in the previous week.
Meanwhile, West Berkhire’s case rate remains low, in the bottom 50 in the UK, but have also risen significantly.
There were 156 cases from December 2 to 8, giving West Berks a comparatively low rate of 98.5, but the week before that, there were just 82 cases, showing case numbers are on the up across the region.
Reported case numbers in Bracknell, Wokingham and Reading are now all at their peak since the beginning of the pandemic, surpassing the previous highest levels in early November.
How case numbers have changed over the last three months – a timeline
Here is a look at how case numbers have changed since September in Bracknell, Wokingham, Reading and West Berkshire.
Figures are from the coronavirus.gov.uk dashboard. Testing has increased over the last few months, which accounts for some of the increase in case numbers across the UK.
Sep 2-8
Reading started the first week of September with the most cases, with Bracknell just behind.
Bracknell: 27
Reading: 35
Wokingham: 21
West Berks: 11
Sep 9-15
Figures fell in all four areas except Bracknell.
This week had the lowest number of cases of any week in the last two months, with 64 cases across the four authority areas.
Bracknell: 27
Reading: 12
Wokingham: 15
West Berks: 10
Sep 16-22
All four local authorities had very similar case numbers to each other this week, with Bracknell going from having the most cases to the least.
Bracknell: 25
Reading: 30
Wokingham: 30
West Berks: 28
Sep 23-29
Until this week’s figures, this was the last time Wokingham had more cases than Reading.
Bracknell: 24
Reading: 46
Wokingham: 56
West Berks: 40
Sep 30 – Oct 6
Reading’s numbers grew by almost 60 cases during this week, taking it back above Wokingham.
Bracknell: 65
Reading: 103
Wokingham: 82
West Berks: 79
Bracknell: 65
Oct 7-13
Reading and Wokingham had a similar number of cases in this week, while West Berks remained largely the same and Bracknell’s increase slightly.
Bracknell: 71
Reading: 121
Wokingham:120
West Berks: 78
Oct 14-20
This was the week saw the biggest increase in cases in Reading, going up by 59.
Bracknell: 110
Reading: 180
Wokingham: 168
West Berks: 109
Oct 21-27
This week saw Wokingham’s cases fall after rising for five consecutive weeks.
Bracknell: 130
Reading: 194
Wokingham: 147
West Berks: 136
Oct 28 – Nov 3
Cases went up in each area except for Bracknell during this week.
Bracknell: 126
Reading: 250
Wokingham: 159
West Berks: 166
Nov 4-10
This week saw Reading’s cases fall for the first time in eight weeks (since September 9-15).
Additionally, Wokingham’s cases surpassed Reading’s for the first time in six weeks (since September 23-29).
In Bracknell, after an encouraging drop in cases last week, case numbers went up again, while West Berks figures remained on an upward trajectory.
Bracknell: 152
Reading: 234
Wokingham: 251
West Berks: 195
Nov 11-17
Reading’s case numbers rose again – and to their highest level during the pandemic – while the other three areas all saw a fall in cases.
All other areas saw case numbers fall.
Bracknell: 140
Reading: 262
Wokingham: 204
West Berks: 176
Nov 18-24
Case numbers and rates fell in every authority during this week.
With the five-day time delay, these case numbers were published on November 29 and all four areas were put in tier 2 when the lockdown ended three days later.
Bracknell: 85
Reading: 211
Wokingham: 180
West Berks: 108
Nov 25 – Dec 1
Covid cases went back up again in all areas except West Berkshire.
Bracknell: 127
Reading: 234
Wokingham: 193
West Berks: 82
Dec 2-8
In the latest week of up-to-date data, each area saw a dramatic rise in case numbers, with Bracknell easily topping its previous highest case numbers of 152 in November.
Wokingham abd Readug also had their highest case number weeks.
West Berks bucked the trend, however, with its peak week still in early November.
Bracknell: 245
Reading: 322
Wokingham: 279
West Berkshire: 156
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