Staggering numbers reveal how Covid-19 infections have exploded in student hotspots

The astonishing speed in which Coronavirus infection rates exploded as students returned to the North East has been revealed. Cases mushroomed in student-heavy postcodes across the region. In Durham City Centre, it took just a fortnight for the area to suffer a 140-fold surge in the infection rate. And an investigation by Reach PLC's data team has found areas with the most students comfortably have the most cases. In Newcastle city centre, which currently has the city's highest infection rate, 40% of the population are students. Around half of those living in Shieldfield and Heaton Park, another virus hotspot, are currently studying. In comparison, areas with very few students - such as New York and Seahouses - have the lowest infection rates, although there are multiple factors behind this.