The coronavirus infection rates in Suffolk remain one of the lowest in England – with some parts of the county reporting less than one positive test result per 100,000 people.

Public Health England has released fresh data for the number of new Covid-19 cases in all local authorities for the week up to July 11.

The updated numbers include Covid-19 testing from both Pillar 1 data – tests carried out in hospitals – and Pillar 2 – tests covering the wider population, including results from the Copdock testing facility.

The figures demonstrate how low the infection rate remains in Suffolk, with two of the four local authorities in the county reporting a significant decrease in the number of new cases when compared to the previous week.

In West Suffolk, the infection rate plummeted from 5.6 new Covid-19 cases per 100,000 people to just 0.6, while the number for Mid Suffolk fell from 2.9 to 0.

The number from Ipswich remained the same from the previous week at 2.2 new cases per 100,000 people.

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East Suffolk was the only part of the county to experience an increase in cases, with last week’s figure of 1.6 new cases per 100.000 people rising slightly to 2.

Leicester, which is still in a localised lockdown, remains the worst-affected area in England according to the latest figures, with an infection rate of 118.2 new cases per 100,000 people.

Tony Goldson, chairman of the Suffolk Health and Wellbeing Board, said: “I think a lot of these cases were ones that came over from London. We are getting to the end of that now.

“This is a positive sign, but we cannot get complacent. We all need to stay safe.

“People still need to be wearing masks, even before they are made mandatory in shops, and we need to listen to the guidance that we are given.”

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