THE coronavirus infection rate in Herefordshire has risen over the last seven days, but remains among the lowest in the country.

Burnley in the north has the highest rate of new Covid-19 infections in England, with Herefordshire's rate signifcantly lower.

The figures, for the seven days to September 28, are based on tests carried out in laboratories (pillar one of the Government’s testing programme) and in the wider community (pillar two).

The rate is expressed as the number of new cases per 100,000 people in each of England's 315 local authorities.

Data for the most recent three days (September 29-October 1) has been excluded as it is incomplete and likely to be revised.

Some 21 new cases were reported in Herefordshire the most recent seven-day period covered by the Government figures.

It means the county's infection rate stands at 10.9. While that is one of the lowest rates in the West Midlands, it's a slight rise on 9.9 which was reported the previous week.

Burnley continues to have the highest rate in England, with 302 new cases recorded in the seven days to September 28 – the equivalent of 339.6 cases per 100,000 people.

This is up sharply from 219.3 per 100,000 in the seven days to September 21.

Liverpool has the second highest rate, up from 215.2 to 278.5, with 1,387 new cases.

Knowsley, in Merseyside, is in third place, where the rate has increased from 227.4 to 273.8, with 413 new cases.

CORONAVIRUS LATEST:

The list has been calculated by the PA news agency and is based on Public Health England data published on October 1 on the Government’s coronavirus dashboard.

Here is the top 20 in the list.

From left to right, it reads: name of local authority; rate of new cases in the seven days to September 28; number (in brackets) of new cases recorded in the seven days to September 28; rate of new cases in the seven days to September 21; number (in brackets) of new cases recorded in the seven days to September 21.

 

  1. Burnley 339.6 (302), 219.3 (195)
  2. Liverpool 278.5 (1387), 215.2 (1072)
  3. Knowsley 273.8 (413), 227.4 (343)
  4. Manchester 259.9 (1437), 178.0 (984)
  5. Newcastle upon Tyne 247.7 (750), 195.2 (591)
  6. Halton 221.8 (287), 192.4 (249)
  7. St Helens 221.5 (400), 133.5 (241)
  8. Preston 221.5 (317), 177.5 (254)
  9. Pendle 211.7 (195), 172.6 (159)
  10. Hyndburn 195.0 (158), 182.6 (148)
  11. Bolton 190.6 (548), 234.0 (673)
  12. Sefton 188.1 (520), 133.1 (368)
  13. Sunderland 176.8 (491), 159.5 (443)
  14. Bury 173.3 (331), 192.7 (368)
  15. South Tyneside 168.9 (255), 215.3 (325)
  16. Warrington 167.1 (351), 139.0 (292)
  17. Oldham 163.2 (387), 178.8 (424)
  18. Rochdale 163.2 (363), 167.3 (372)
  19. Salford 160.3 (415), 148.0 (383)
  20. Wirral 152.8 (495), 164.2 (532)

Here's how Herefordshire compares to nearby local authority areas:

113. Worcester 38.5 (39), 34.6 (35)

131. Shropshire 34.0 (110), 24.1 (78)

161. Malvern Hills 28.0 (22), 16.5 (13)

168. Cheltenham 25.8 (30), 15.5 (18)

190. Gloucester 22.5 (29), 21.7 (28)

231. Forest of Dean 17.3 (15), 8.1 (7)

277. Herefordshire 10.9 (21), 9.9 (19)