Coronavirus case rates in Suffolk continue to fall below national average
Coronavirus rates in Suffolk remain below the national average - Credit: Charlotte Bond
Coronavirus infection rates in Suffolk are continuing to fall below the national average – although significant pressure remains on local healthcare systems.
According to the latest Public Health England data, which covers the seven days to January 21, all local authority areas in England remain below the national average of 402.1 cases per 100,000.
The data for the four most recent days is deemed as incomplete and is thus omitted.
In Ipswich – where rates had reached as high as 731.8 per 100,000 earlier this month – 515 new cases of the virus were recorded over seven days, down from 776 the week prior.
Those figures take the seven-day rate down from 566.8 per 100,000 to 376.2.
In East Suffolk, numbers have also dropped significantly, with the area recording more than 300 fewer cases in the seven days to January 21 at 731.
The case rate there now stands at 293.0 per 100,000, down from 424.1.
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Similarly in Babergh, the rate dropped from 377.0 per 100,000 to 286.8 – with 264 cases being recorded over the seven days.
West Suffolk saw its figure drop from 329 per 100,000 to 283.2 after 507 new infections were recorded.
Across the border in Essex, figures too have continued to decline – although a number of areas remain above the national average.
Among them is Tendring, where rates dropped from 895.9 per 100,000 to 663.2 and Braintree, where figures dropped from 614 per 100,000 to 486.2.
In Colchester, the figure dropped from 606.6 per 100,000 to 478.7.
Hospitals in both counties continue to be under significant pressure however, with 675 people now being treated for the virus in hospitals across Suffolk and north Essex.
Nick Hulme, chief executive of Ipswich and Colchester hospitals, said the situation is the worst he has ever seen – and said it will take weeks until declining cases in the community have an impact on hospital numbers.
