They are also on the up in many neighbourhoods within the Wakefield district.
There were 570,550 positive cases in the UK in the week ending March 17, a huge 39% jump on the week before.
In Wakefield, the number of new cases, based on tests taken from March 11 to 17 was 1,634.
The rate of new cases per 100,000 bsaed on tests taken from March 11 to 17 was 464.7 - a 62.7% increase.
Compared with the rest of the UK for the biggest rise in that week, the district is ranked 65th.
The lifting of many restrictions, waning effectiveness of boosters and the spread of the highly contagious BA.2 ‘stealth Omicron’ variant have all been touted as potential reasons for rising infection rates.
The figures include both positive PCR and lateral flow tests, except in Wales where only PCRs are counted.
They include people infected with Covid-19 for the first time as well as reinfections.
At neighbourhood level, Covid-19 case rates have been published for the week to March 17.
Here are the neighbourhoods in Wakefield with the biggest rise in case rates in the past week.
1. Pontefract North East
Pontefract North East had 1025.5 Covid-19 cases per 100,000 people in the latest week, a rise of 203.1% from the week before.
2. Stanley, Moorhouse, Bottom Boat
Stanley, Moorhouse and the Bottom Boat Road area had 1024.8 Covid-19 cases per 100,000 people in the latest week, a rise of 179.2% from the week before.
3. Kettlethorpe and Chapelthorpe
Kettlethorpe and Chapelthorpe had 879.8Covid-19 cases per 100,000 people in the latest week, a rise of 140.0% from the week before.
4. Altofts
Altofts had 1324.3 Covid-19 cases per 100,000 people in the latest week, a rise of 110.8% from the week before.