One in three Britons now live in areas where Covid infections have effectively fallen to zero.
The number of virus-free neighbourhoods has doubled in just a week, according to official data.
Some areas have had no new infections for a month. The findings prompted calls for the lockdown to be lifted more quickly – and prevent further damage to the economy.
‘The stats just don’t back up the severity of the lockdown and the slowness of the lifting,’ said Sir Robert Syms, Tory MP for Poole in Dorset. ‘They’re being too cautious – it’s got to be driven by data not dates.’
To chart the prevalence of coronavirus, Public Health England publishes figures for positive test results in seven-day periods for every district.
One in three Britons now live in areas where Covid infections have effectively fallen to zero, with official data showing the number of virus-free neighbourhoods has doubled in just a week
Counties are divided into 6,791 zones, known as Middle Super Output Areas (MSOAs), each of which has a population of around 8,000.
Outbreaks are recorded if the number of new infections is greater than two. Residents in every MSOA were testing positive at the height of the second wave.
But 2,426 of them in England had effectively no new cases in the week up to March 7. That accounts for 19million of the 56million population, the equivalent of 36 per cent.
We’ve had no corona here for weeks… Let us open!
Frustrated: PJ and Mai O’Brien
With its family-friendly atmosphere and views of the River Neet, Bude’s Globe Hotel should be gearing up for a busy Easter.
Indeed, given that the north Cornwall seaside resort has been free of Covid cases for almost two months, landlord PJ O’Brien and his wife Mai, cannot see why their pub faces restrictions until at least May 17.
This is the earliest date pubs can serve customers inside – but those with beer gardens can open from April 12. Unfortunately, the Globe Hotel has no outdoor space.
‘There’s no problem with Covid in this town and hasn’t been for weeks,’ said Mr O’Brien, 69. ‘Some pubs around here will go under if they can’t get back to work soon. We need restrictions easing faster.’
Mrs O’Brien, 50, added: ‘We want to be seeing our local customers again and we’d open tomorrow if we could.’
The number of Covid-free areas has doubled from 1,200 in a week. And 137 have not recorded more than two cases in any of the past four weeks.
Although most are in Devon, Cornwall and Somerset, they include Belsize Park and Highgate Wood in north London, Lee in south-east London, parts of Oxford and Reading and long stretches of the north Norfolk coast.
Some areas have been Covid-free for far longer than a month. Hartland in north Devon has reported fewer than three cases a week since January 16. A handful of nearby areas have had no more than that number since January 23.
Sir Robert said: ‘All the way across the South cases are falling away very rapidly and so we are doing damage to the economy that we don’t need to do.
‘Businesses will miss Easter and last year they missed Easter too, and I think it’s a great pity. What they should be doing is bringing forward the May opening.
‘If they opened up the economy they might be able to afford a better pay rise for nurses.’
Professor David Paton, chairman of industrial economics at Nottingham University Business School, said: ‘Deaths, hospital admissions and new positive tests are all down by about 90 per cent from their peak, yet hospitality is still not allowed to open to customers indoors for another two months.
‘The Government needs urgently to review its roadmap. The most important move they could make would be to allow cafes, pubs and restaurants to open indoors at the same time as non-essential retail.
‘The hospitality industry has made huge investments in safety measures and there is no reason to think that people sitting inside a cafe with a cup of tea pose any more risk than shoppers.’
But Selaine Saxby, Tory MP for north Devon, said residents – some of whom had not ventured outside for months before getting their vaccine – told her they did not want to speed up the reopening of society.
Yesterday another 6,609 positive cases were confirmed along with 175 new deaths, giving a total toll of 125,343. Experts say the R number is becoming increasingly irrelevant because of the vaccine rollout
She added: ‘I agree our cases are very low but people are very cautious and I hope this time will give them the reassurance they need.
‘Small businesses have started planning in line with the roadmap and to start changing that is going to create another lot of stress, particularly if they have got staff on furlough.’
Data from the Office for National Statistics shows that cases are back at mid-September levels, while the vaccine rollout has helped slash deaths by almost 90 per cent.
The R number for the UK is now between 0.6 and 0.8, the lowest range since the first publication of figures in May. Cases have fallen by 20 per cent in the past week, with one in 270 now infected nationally. The peak was one in 50 in early January.
Based on the random testing of tens of thousands of people, the ONS survey is seen by the Government as the most reliable measure of the pandemic.
Yesterday another 6,609 positive cases were confirmed along with 175 new deaths, giving a total toll of 125,343. Experts say the R number is becoming increasingly irrelevant because of the vaccine rollout.