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 third week in a row as the coronavirus lockdown enters its sixth week.

The latest figures, for the seven days to January 31, show the infection rate – the number of new cases per 100,00 people – stands at 87.1 new cases per 100,000 people.

That has dropped from 151.5 the week before.

The fall is as a result of 168 new cases were recorded during the most recent week, less than the 292 the previous week.

The infection rate is now at its lowest level since mid-December, shortly before Herefordshire moved into Tier 1 coronavirus restrictions.

Data for the most recent four days (February 8-11) has been excluded as it is incomplete and does not reflect the true number of cases.

Of the 315 local areas in England, 12 (4%) have seen a rise in case rates, 302 (96%) have seen a fall and one is unchanged.

Rutland in the East Midlands continues to have the highest rate in England, with 186 new cases recorded in the seven days to February 7 – the equivalent of 465.9 cases per 100,000 people.

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This is up from 230.4 cases per 100,000 people in the seven days to January 31, and has been linked to an outbreak at a prison in the county.

Corby in Northamptonshire has the second highest rate, down from 480.5 to 429.3, with 310 new cases.

Walsall in the West Midlands is in third place, down from 468.7 to 414.7, with 1,184 new cases.

The list has been calculated by the PA news agency based on Public Health England data published on February 11 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 February 7; number (in brackets) of new cases recorded in the seven days to February 7; rate of new cases in the seven days to January 31; number (in brackets) of new cases recorded in the seven days to January 31.

  1. Rutland, 465.9, (186), 230.4, (92)
  2. Corby, 429.3, (310), 480.5, (347)
  3. Walsall, 414.7, (1184), 468.7, (1338)
  4. Sandwell, 383.0, (1258), 519.1, (1705)
  5. Middlesbrough, 382.3, (539), 356.1, (502)
  6. St. Helens, 350.5, (633), 461.8, (834)
  7. Knowsley, 348.0, (525), 488.5, (737)
  8. Mansfield, 343.1, (375), 343.1, (375)
  9. Preston, 339.5, (486), 334.0, (478)
  10. East Staffordshire, 319.0, (382), 339.0, (406)
  11. Luton, 317.3, (676), 438.4, (934)
  12. Slough, 310.3, (464), 470.8, (704)
  13. Ashfield, 308.8, (395), 378.4, (484)
  14. Kettering, 308.5, (314), 336.0, (342)
  15. Wolverhampton, 306.4, (807), 395.3, (1041)
  16. Blackburn with Darwen, 302.6, (453), 419.5, (628)
  17. Peterborough, 300.1, (607), 413.8, (837)
  18. Nottingham, 295.9, (985), 334.6, (1114)
  19. Ealing, 294.0, (1005), 412.8, (1411)
  20. Hounslow, 291.7, (792), 428.3, (1163)

Here is how Herefordshire compare to nearby areas.

66. Worcester, 223.3, (226), 326.0, (330)

127. Shropshire, 189.1, (611), 217.6, (703)

232. Gloucester, 136.3, (176), 206.0, (266)

233. Malvern Hills, 134.7, (106), 167.7, (132)

293. Forest of Dean, 94.5, (82), 152.1, (132)

297. Herefordshire, 87.1, (168), 151.5, (292)

306. Cheltenham, 73.1, (85), 115.2, (134)