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Revealed: The UK region most worried about coronavirus

People walk in the sunshine in Durham, north east England, where 10 Downing Street special advisor Dominic Cummings is alleged to have travelled to, from London, while the nation was under lockdown to curb the spread of COVID-19. - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday failed to draw a line under a scandal over his top aide Dominic Cummings allegedly breaching coronavirus rules as pressure mounted on the Brexit mastermind to go. Cummings is alleged to have left his London home to stay with his parents in Durham, northeast England, while suffering symptoms of COVID-19, British newspapers the Daily Mirror and The Guardian said. (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP) (Photo by OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images)
People walking in Durham in the north east of England. (AFP via Getty Images)

The region of Britain that is most concerned about COVID-19 has been revealed.

According to a study across England, Scotland and Wales by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), people in the North East felt most worry about how coronavirus is affecting their lives.

Its figures, published on Tuesday, showed that the coronavirus death toll is almost 10,000 more than previously reported.

The ONS found that 86.7% of people in the North East were either “somewhat worried” or “very worried” about the impact of coronavirus.

And people aged between 16 and 34 in the North East were the most worried group in the whole of the UK – with 94% saying they were concerned.

The second most worried region was Wales, where 82.4% said they were concerned.

Yorkshire and the Humber with 82% and the West Midlands with 81.5% rounded off the top four most worried regions.

London, which emerged as the least neighbourly part of Britain during the pandemic in the same study, was in sixth position on 80.8%, while Scottish people were among the least concerned on 76.4%.

The least worried region about coronavirus in Britain was the East Midlands, with 75.7%.

The ONS study surveyed 5,320 people between 3 April and 3 May.

The North East is the most worried region about coronavirus (ONS)
The North East is the region most worried about coronavirus. (ONS)

Despite people aged 16 to 34 in North East being the most worried in Britain, people in that age group were less worried than older age groups nationwide.

The ONS said there were 248 deaths involving COVID-19 in the North East during the week ending 15 May, the lowest of any region apart from the South West.

"Levels of worry and concern are high across all countries and regions, with many of us keeping in touch with families and friends, but we also find differences in how lockdown has affected people around Great Britain,” said James P Harris, cities statistician at the ONS.

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When asked what concerned them most during the coronavirus pandemic, 27% of people in the North East said work, school or university, while 25.5% pointed to health, wellbeing or access to care.

The North East was the region where people were most worried their work would be affected by COVID-19.

The ONS said the number of deaths involving coronavirus in the UK reached its lowest weekly level for six weeks.

There were 4,210 deaths involving COVID-19 registered in the week ending 15 May, the lowest weekly total since the week ending 3 April, when 3,801 were registered.

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