Coronavirus rates are surging across south east London, with both Bromley and Bexley registering more than 1000 new cases in the last recorded week.

Rates have rocketed since early December, with Bexley reaching a shocking 496.2 new cases per 100,000 in the seven days leading up to December 13, up from 689 the week before.

This puts the borough in the top 20 worst affected areas in England.

Bromley has shown a similarly concerning increase, recording 346.9 new cases per 100,000 over the same period, up from 191.7 the previous week.

In Bexley this amounted to 1232 new cases, while in Bromley there were 1153.

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Data for the most recent four days (December 14-17) has been excluded as it is incomplete and does not reflect the true number of cases.

Greenwich has also registered a surge, which saw the council request schools shut early for Christmas, before the Government threatened legal action.

In the latest week 308.4 new cases per 100,000 were recorded in the borough, up from 202.1 in the previous week.

Lewisham has reflected the same trend, recording 269.1 new cases per 100,000 compared to 127.8 in seven days before.

Boris Johnson today stated he has not ruled out a third national lockdown, as health chiefs warn of the toll on frontline staff and services from festive mixing.

The Prime Minister said rates of infection have increased "very much in the last few weeks", as pressure grows on the Government to do more to tackle the rise.

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London, eastern England and south-east England already all have Covid-19 case rates that are higher than when the second lockdown began in England on November 5.

Speaking during a visit to Bolton, Greater Manchester, Mr Johnson was asked whether England would follow Northern Ireland in imposing stringent restrictions after the festive period.

He said: "We're hoping very much that we will be able to avoid anything like that. But the reality is that the rates of infection have increased very much in the last few weeks."

Schools minister Nick Gibb earlier insisted England's tier system, which will see swathes of southern and eastern England move to the toughest restrictions, is "very effective".

But he added "we rule nothing out" when asked about the possibility of a national lockdown after Christmas.