Twelve areas are being targeted after a 'steep' rise in Covid-19 cases.
Extra testing and vaccination support is being drafted into the North East to slow a huge rise in Covid-19 infections across the region.
Infections are running at a higher rate across the area than anywhere else in England.
Positive tests are increasing unevenly across the country but have been persistently high in the North East for several weeks.
It comes as the government confirms the R number remains as high as 1.4 across England and an expert warned the country is poised for another period of ‘exponential growth’.
Government data shows there are 964.4 cases per 100,000 people in the North East, nearly 50% more than the second worst-hit region (Yorkshire at 645.1) and more than double London’s rate (450.3).
The three cities and large towns with the highest levels in England – Middlesbrough, Sunderland and Newcastle – are all in the region.
Over the last week, the seven council areas with the highest rates of Covid-19 were all in Tyneside or Teesside.
The area with the highest number of infections for the most recent seven day period is Redcar and Cleveland (1546.5 per 100,000), although the highest number of positive tests was recorded in Essex (8,547).
According to the health department, the region will get ‘extra testing in the area, as well as providing logistical support to maximise vaccine and testing uptake’.
The move comes as similar support in Bedford and much of the North West, which has been in place for between six and 10 weeks, is being scaled back.
Extra help was sent into those areas when the first explosion of the Delta variant caused cases to rapidly rise in Bolton before spreading to surrounding areas.
In a joint statement, local leaders in the North East said the ‘steep rise’ in Covid-19 cases serves as a ‘sobering reminder that we all still have a responsibility to make sure we continue to do our bit’.
Public health minister Jo Churchill said: ‘By working in lockstep with local authorities and directors of public health, this additional support should help turn the tide on these growing case numbers and extend the wall of protection that vaccines are creating across the country.’
The areas set to get enhanced support are: Darlington, Durham, Gateshead, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Newcastle, North Tyneside, Northumberland Redcar and Cleveland, South Tyneside, Stockton on Tees and Sunderland.
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