On December 29, Sheffield recorded an average infection rate of 1,536.5 per 100,000 people, with 9,053 new recorded cases.
This marks an increase of 64 per cent on figures released before Christmas on December 23, when the infection rate was recorded as 931 per 100,000.
Meanwhile, the average infection rate for England stands at 1,506 in the latest figures from December 29.
Many revellers this year would have had their Christmas plans cancelled by positive Covid tests, while others self-isolated in the run up to December 25 to ensure they didn’t catch anything before the big day.
The data from NHS England also shows where cases in Sheffield rose fastest in the days after Christmas.
In fact, in Sheffield, 29 of the city’s 70 “middle super layer output areas” – essentially, districts – saw their infection rate per 100,000 people double compared with the week before, while in at least three areas – Southey Green West, Shiregreen North and Parson Cross – the average rate tripled.
It comes as several NHS trusts across England have this week declared a “critical incident” under the weight of extremely high staff absences.
Sheffield Teaching Hospital NHS Trust – which on Boxing Day had over 2,000 members of staff off – is expected to make a statement on its situation before the end of the day.
These are the areas within Sheffield where the infection rate is rising the fastest.