Yasmin Qureshi says rising Covid rates not fault of certain communities
Equality campaigners, politicians and scientists have warned that ministers could end up stoking divisions by suggesting that the increases in Covid cases in Bolton, Blackburn, and Erewash are due to vaccine hesitancy in certain communities.
Bolton has the highest case rate in the country with 275 cases per 100,000 residents in the week to 12 May. Bedford has overtaken Erewash and Blackburn to become the country’s second worst Covid hotspot, with 122 cases per 100,000. In the Lever Edge area of Bolton, more than 1,000 residents per 100,000 tested positive for Covid in the week to 12 May.
