Herefordshire's coronavirus infection rate is starting to fall as the number of new cases drops.

In recent weeks, the infection rate had been doubling in seven days, but that has now stopped.

The latest figures, for the seven days to January 17, show the infection rate – the number of new cases per 100,00 people – stands at 309.6 new cases per 100,000 people,

That has dropped from 372.9 the week before.

The latest rise is because 597 new cases were recorded during the most recent week, more than than the 719 the previous week.

Data for the most recent four days (January 18-21) has been excluded as it is incomplete and does not reflect the true number of cases.

Of the 315 local areas in England, 31 (10%) have seen a rise in case rates, 283 (90%) have seen a fall and one is unchanged.

Knowsley in Merseyside continues to have the highest rate in England, with 1,612 new cases recorded in the seven days to January 17 – the equivalent of 1,068.5 cases per 100,000 people.

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This is down from 1,367.5 cases per 100,000 people in the seven days to January 10.

Slough in Berkshire has the second highest rate, down from 1,093.4 to 981.7, with 1,468 new cases.

Sandwell in the West Midlands is in third place, down from 951.1 to 920.4, with 3,023 new cases.

The list has been calculated by the PA news agency based on Public Health England data published on January 21 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 17; number (in brackets) of new cases recorded in the seven days to January 17; rate of new cases in the seven days to January 10; number (in brackets) of new cases recorded in the seven days to January 10.

  1. Knowsley, 1068.5, (1612), 1367.5, (2063)
  2. Slough, 981.7, (1468), 1093.4, (1635)
  3. Sandwell, 920.4, (3023), 951.1, (3124)
  4. Hounslow, 894.6, (2429), 1054.4, (2863)
  5. Wolverhampton, 876.4, (2308), 953.8, (2512)
  6. Newham, 874.5, (3088), 1334.3, (4712)
  7. Barking and Dagenham, 872.2, (1857), 1426.5, (3037)
  8. Brent, 868.8, (2865), 1083.8, (3574)
  9. Ealing, 859.3, (2937), 1081.6, (3697)
  10. Eastbourne, 855.9, (888), 972.6, (1009)
  11. Tendring, 829.7, (1216), 1142.2, (1674)
  12. Rushmoor, 828.8, (784), 1143.8, (1082)
  13. St Helens, 808.5, (1460), 801.8, (1448)
  14. Halton, 808.3, (1046), 1165.3, (1508)
  15. Harlow, 793.6, (691), 1249.6, (1088)
  16. Carlisle, 790.4, (859), 1022.3, (1111)
  17. Castle Point, 774.5, (700), 1008.0, (911)
  18. Liverpool, 770.2, (3836), 1010.4, (5032)
  19. Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole, 757.1, (2993), 877.2, (3468)
  20. Thurrock, 746.2, (1301), 1150.6, (2006)

Here is how Herefordshire compares to nearby areas.

42. Worcester, 673.8, (682), 741.9, (751)

138. Shropshire, 442.8, (1431), 426.1, (1377)

214. Gloucester, 352.4, (455), 438.3, (566)

234. Malvern Hills, 320.2, (252), 312.6, (246)

248. Herefordshire, 309.6, (597), 372.9, (719)

258. Forest of Dean, 293.8, (255), 409.0, (355)

301. Cheltenham, 202.1, (235), 313.8, (365)