HEREFORDSHIRE'S coronavirus infection rate continues to fall as fewer new cases are being found in the county.

The infection rate has fallen for the second week in a row as the coronavirus lockdown enters its fourth week.

The latest figures, for the seven days to January 24, show the infection rate – the number of new cases per 100,00 people – stands at 212.1 new cases per 100,000 people.

That has dropped from 313.8 the week before.

The fall is as a result of 409 new cases were recorded during the most recent week, less than the 605 the previous week.

Data for the most recent four days (January 25-28) has been excluded as it is incomplete and does not reflect the true number of cases.

Of the 315 local areas in England, 13 (4%) have seen a rise in case rates, 301 (96%) have seen a fall and one is unchanged.

Knowsley in Merseyside continues to have the highest rate in England, with 1,171 new cases recorded in the seven days to January 24 – the equivalent of 776.2 cases per 100,000 people.

This is down from 1,067.2 cases per 100,000 people in the seven days to January 17.

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Sandwell in the West Midlands has the second highest rate, down from 923.7 to 704.2, with 2,313 new cases.

Slough in Berkshire is in third place, down from 986.4 to 671.4, with 1,004 new cases.

The list has been calculated by the PA news agency based on Public Health England data published on January 28 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 January 24; number (in brackets) of new cases recorded in the seven days to January 24; rate of new cases in the seven days to January 17; number (in brackets) of new cases recorded in the seven days to January 17.

  1. Knowsley, 776.2, (1171), 1067.2, (1610)
  2. Sandwell, 704.2, (2313), 923.7, (3034)
  3. Slough, 671.4, (1004), 986.4, (1475)
  4. Wolverhampton, 640.6, (1687), 879.4, (2316)
  5. Ealing, 633.4, (2165), 864.8, (2956)
  6. St. Helens, 631.8, (1141), 811.3, (1465)
  7. Brent, 623.8, (2057), 877.6, (2894)
  8. Hounslow, 602.9, (1637), 904.2, (2455)
  9. Walsall, 594.8, (1698), 747.5, (2134)
  10. Barking and Dagenham, 594.6, (1266), 880.2, (1874)
  11. Halton, 581.9, (753), 808.3, (1046)
  12. Luton, 581.5, (1239), 714.4, (1522)
  13. Rushmoor, 579.3, (548), 833.0, (788)
  14. Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole, 572.4, (2263), 762.7, (3015)
  15. Eastbourne, 568.7, (590), 858.8, (891)
  16. Corby, 562.2, (406), 649.4, (469)
  17. Newham, 549.4, (1940), 883.5, (3120)
  18. Tendring, 547.9, (803), 839.9, (1231)
  19. Blackburn with Darwen, 543.1, (813), 654.0, (979)
  20. Hillingdon, 538.7, (1653), 718.2, (2204)

Here's how Herefordshire compares to nearby areas.

70. Worcester, 416.9, (422), 679.7, (688)

159. Gloucester, 322.2, (416), 354.7, (458)

202. Shropshire, 284.1, (918), 442.5, (1430)

241. Malvern Hills, 245.2, (193), 324.0, (255)

280. Herefordshire, 212.1, (409), 313.8, (605)

305. Cheltenham, 145.3, (169), 202.1, (235)

301. Forest of Dean, 150.9, (131), 296.1, (257)