Covid infection rate rises in Herefordshire

The infection rate shows the prevalence of the virus in an area, with these figures comparing local authority areas across England.

The rate is expressed as the number of new cases in a seven-day period, per 100,000 people.

And in Herefordshire the rate has been falling most weeks since a peak in January.

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In the latest Public Health England figures, which cover the seven days to March 21, the rate stood at just 37.3 –⁠ much lower than 372.9 cases per 100,000 people at the height of the second wave.

This week's figure is higher than seven days ago when it was 33.2.

Data for the most recent four days (March 22-25) has been excluded as it is incomplete and does not reflect the true number of cases.

Of the 315 local areas in England, 132 (42%) have seen a rise in case rates, 173 (55%) have seen a fall and 10 are unchanged (3%).

Corby in Northamptonshire has the highest rate in England, with 138 new cases recorded in the seven days to March 21 – the equivalent of 191.1 cases per 100,000 people.

This is the same as the 191.1 per 100,000 population in the seven days to March 14.

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Barnsley has the second highest rate, up from 174.2 to 185.1, with 457 new cases.

North Lincolnshire has the third highest rate, up from 139.3 to 161.4, with 278 new cases.

The list has been calculated by the PA news agency based on Public Health England data published on March 25 on the Government’s coronavirus dashboard.

Here are the top 20 areas in the list.

From left to right, it reads: name of local authority; rate of new cases in the seven days to March 21; number (in brackets) of new cases recorded in the seven days to March 21; rate of new cases in the seven days to March 14; number (in brackets) of new cases recorded in the seven days to March 14.

1. Corby, 191.1, (138), 191.1, (138)
2. Barnsley, 185.1, (457), 174.2, (430)
3. North Lincolnshire, 161.4, (278), 139.3, (240)
4. Hull, 151.3, (393), 171.3, (445)
5. Redditch, 150.1, (128), 166.5, (142)
6. Doncaster, 142.7, (445), 111.9, (349)
7. Bradford, 142.5, (769), 144.5, (780)
8. Rotherham, 140.9, (374), 136.4, (362)
9. South Holland, 137.9, (131), 120.0, (114)
10. Wakefield, 135.5, (472), 128.9, (449)
11. Luton, 131.9, (281), 116.9, (249)
12. Bassetlaw, 128.6, (151), 111.5, (131)
13. Sheffield, 125.2, (732), 99.5, (582)
14. Peterborough, 123.6, (250), 131.0, (265)
15. West Lindsey, 122.3, (117), 74.2, (71)
16. Tameside, 120.5, (273), 120.1, (272)
17. Darlington, 116.1, (124), 126.4, (135)
18. Boston, 115.4, (81), 124.0, (87)
19. Rugby, 112.9, (123), 67.0, (73)
20. Fenland, 110.9, (113), 117.8, (120)

Here's how Herefordshire compares to nearby areas.

80. Worcester, 70.1, (71), 47.4, (48)

187. Herefordshire, 37.3, (72), 33.2, (64)

235. Shropshire, 29.7, (96), 36.5, (118)

253. Cheltenham, 25.8, (30), 18.1, (21)

279. Malvern Hills, 21.6, (17), 36.8, (29)

281. Forest of Dean, 19.6, (17), 18.4, (16)

304. Gloucester, 13.9, (18), 22.5, (29)