Several national outlets, including the BBC and Mirror, have questioned the north-south divide in COVID-19 cases

Two-thirds of the population in northern England and a fifth of people in the Midlands are facing extra restrictions, while no local authority in England south of Solihull is currently imposing these measures.

In recent weeks, the proportion of tests that prove positive has been increasing across the country, but is highest in northern regions.

When restrictions were first eased in May, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, described it as a ‘London-centric’ approach, because many of the regions had not yet seen the decreases in deaths and cases experienced in the capital.

The outlets also suggest that there could be factors relating to demographics in northern England which have made people there particularly vulnerable to the virus, with ‘higher levels of deprivation, more density, and more people in exposed occupations’.

Of the local authorities currently on Public Health England's COVID-19 ‘watchlist’, a quarter are ranked within the most deprived fifth in England.

The reports suggest the pandemic continues to affect different demographics and regions of the country unequally.

Full articles:

BBC - Coronavirus infection: Is there a North-South divide in England?

Mirror - New coronavirus maps show stark north-south divide amid fears of national lockdown