As the East of England prepares to enter Tier 2 restrictions when the national lockdown comes to an end, which postcode areas in Suffolk and north Essex have the highest and lowest Covid-19 infection rates?

The data released by the government covers the seven day period up to Monday, November 23. It gives a figure for the rolling rate of positive tests per 100,000 people, as well as the total number of coronavirus cases in a particular area.

The Suffolk district of Maidenhall, Stoke and Port, in Ipswich, recorded the highest number of Covid cases in the region, with positive tests increasing by 48 in a week.

This takes its rolling infection rate to 492.1 per 100,000 people.

This number has quadrupled since the previous seven-day period, where the neighbourhood had just 11 cases and an infection rate of 112.8 per 100,000 people, showing a significant jump.

Ipswich’s case rate has continued to rise in recent weeks, with Ipswich Borough Council leader David Ellesmere saying everyone must “play our part” to stand a chance of moving into Tier 1 next month.

MORE: New tier system is actually ‘lockdown lite’, says Ipswich council leaderSeven–day rates are calculated by dividing the total number of cases in the past week by the area’s population, and multiplying by 100,000.

The second highest infection rate in Suffolk is Hadleigh, with 376.7 per 100,000 people, following a confirmed 42 cases over the seven-day period.

However, this is a significant drop in infection rate from the previous week, where Hadleigh had a rate of 547.2 per 100,000 people after 61 new cases of the disease. The area has been considered a hot spot in Suffolk following an outbreak of cases at Magdalen House Care Home, where there were more than 40 positive test results.

MORE: Health leaders commit additional Covid tests to tackle Hadleigh outbreakAlso at the top of the list with the highest infection rates in Suffolk are Stoke Park in Ipswich, which saw 21 positive tests and an infection rate of 295.8, followed closely by Gipping and Chantry Park, which also had 21 new cases taking its infection rate to 221.1.

The highest rates in the north of Essex were in Braintree West and Rayne - which has a rolling seven-day infection rate of 241.14, after 19 confirmed cases - and Lexden in Colchester which saw 11 new cases and an infection rate of 194.1.

Some areas on the map have data missing, this is because these particular districts recorded fewer than three positive cases, and therefore concrete totals are not available.

It is therefore impossible to know for certain which area had the lowest number of cases across Suffolk and north Essex.

But based on the data available, the areas featured on the map with the lowest infection rates are scattered across both counties.

The area of Red Lodge, Icklingham and Moulton in Suffolk appears to have the lowest infection rate after recording just three cases, with a rate of 30 positive tests per 100,000 people.

This was followed shortly by Barrow, Chedburgh and Sicklesmere in West Suffolk which also recorded three cases in the seven-day period, bringing its infection rate to 30.6.

Meanwhile, the lowest infection rates in the north of Essex were found in Clacton Bocking’s Elm and Clacton West, which both also recorded just three cases.

• The map is divided into postcode areas called MSOAs. Explore the map above to find out the case numbers and infection rate in your local neighbourhood.