Birmingham confirmed to hold the highest number of coronavirus cases in the UK outside London

Birmingham has confirmed to hold the highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the UK, outside of London.

As of 18:14 (GMT) 29th March, Birmingham has recorded 513 cases of coronavirus. This is compared to the second-highest number of recorded cases, in Hampshire, with 432 cases – a difference of +81.

In other parts of the West Midlands, Staffordshire holds 212 cases, while Wolverhampton has recorded 153 cases.

Walsall has confirmed at 125 cases, Dudley at 122 cases, Coventry at 79 cases, and Solihull at 74 cases.

As the cases of coronavirus rise across the country, Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has himself tested positive for the virus, has written to all UK households saying the crisis will get worse before it gets better.

In the letter being sent to 30 million households at an anticipated cost of £5.8m, Mr Johnson writes: “From the start, we have sought to put in the right measures at the right time.

“We will not hesitate to go further if that is what the scientific and medical advice tells us we must do.”

Tough measures to tackle the spread of coronavirus, including a ban on public gatherings of more than two people and the closure of shops selling non-essential goods, were introduced last week.

Deputy chief medical officer Dr Jenny Harries warned it could be up to six months before life returns to “normal.”

More than 108,000 people in the UK have been tested for the virus but were found not to have it. The actual number of people with the respiratory infection in the country is estimated to be much higher.

Over the past week the number of deaths has roughly doubled every three days. It is speculated at the current rate, there could be another 1,000 deaths by the middle of the week.

As of 18:14 (GMT) 29th March, there are 19,522 confirmed UK cases, with 2,433 new cases have been recorded. COVID-19 related deaths total 1,228.

The jump in coronavirus-related deaths in the UK from 1,019 to 1,228 is an increase of 209 – the second biggest day-on-day rise in the number of deaths since the outbreak began.

Breaking the regional statistics down, England holds the most cases at 16,487. Scotland has 1,384, while Wales has 1,241. Northern Ireland has 410.

However, UK figures are currently lower than some other European countries, such as Italy, where there have been more than 92,000 cases and more than 10,700 deaths.

EDIT : An earlier version of this article failed to emphasise that the Public Health England data refers to UK cities outside of London, although this was made clear in the data and article itself. The data and research included here, and how it has been sourced and presented, is accurate and remains so at the most recent review of it. We apologise and regret if this was misconstrued. (12:21 GMT – 30.03.20)

For more information on coronavirus and official NHS guidelines, click here.