The Conversation, an online publication that publishes academic articles, published data from genetics professor Tim Spector’s COVID-19 symptom tracker app which suggests that people leaving the city for the countryside have unwittingly packed the virus with them

The article describes how coronavirus has exposed the inequalities between those privileged enough to slip the city for a second home in rural areas, and those permanently based in the countryside struggling to find a house, get a job, or catch a bus.

This comes as research is published by the Prince’s Countryside Fund demonstrating that rural residents across Britain are feeling increasingly remote with shops and schools closing and services centralised.

The website LocalGov.co.uk reported that the number of new coronavirus cases in rural areas has begun to catch up with England’s urban hotspots.

Figures show that the number of new cases in rural counties has quadrupled in the past three weeks, with those areas seeing the largest increase in the past week.

At the same time, the number of positive cases in London has fallen by 5 per cent compared to the previous week.

County council leaders warn that their communities face major challenges in the coming weeks, with large parts of their areas remote and rural.

Full articles:

LocalGov - Rural counties see a spike in coronavirus cases

ITV - Farmers' livelihoods 'put at risk' by visitors

Farmers Guardian - Farm groups urge countryside walkers to ‘respect’ rural communities amid pandemic

The Conversation - ‘Coronavirus holidays’ stoke rural fury