THE coronavirus infection rate in Herefordshire has risen over the last week, but the county's public health chief says it's not because of a large-scale outbreak.

The rate, expressed as the number of new cases per 100,000 people over a seven-period, had risen to 99.6 in the most recent data which covers to February 19.

That was up from 78.3 the week before, and was as a result of 41 more cases being in the most-recent week compared to the seven days before.

But Rebecca Howell-Jones, the county's public health director, said there was no single reason why the infection rate had risen, like a large-scale outbreak.

She said cases do remain low in the county, and some fluctuation in the infection rate was expected at this level.

On one day recently 40 new cases were confirmed, but as that had been higher than the number on the days leading up to then, it dragged the infection rate up.

She said that at present, most transmission appears to be in work places and households, and emphasised the importance of trying to avoid catching Covid-19.

Even though younger people are unlikely to become seriously ill and die, Dr Howell-Jones said long-term effects of the virus can be a problem

"It's really important that everyone works at home as much as they can, maintains Covid-secure things, and also if there's a single case in a household, it's difficult, but there's definitely steps you can take to prevent that spread amongst households members.

"It's really important. We know that most young people will generally be OK, but long Covid is a real thing and can have a severe impact on some people.

"It's best not be infected and we can prevent that spread if we can, take precautions.

"It's thing like cleaning touch points, making sure you sleep in different bedrooms and so on.

"There's no real single answer to that, we're still seeing dispersed cases around the county in different locations."

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Director of adults and communities at Herefordshire Council Stephen Vickers tried to reassure the public during the Healthwatch Herefordshire Q&A, which was streamed live on Facebook.

He said that when cases are this low, it doesn't take much for the infection rate to look like it's going in the wrong direction, and that's not the consistent trajectory, which is downwards.

"It's all going in the right direction in general terms. You need to look at this over a slightly longer period than just any single moment in time.

"That's important, so for reassurance I would say that. I would also reinforce all of the precautions Rebecca has just said.

"That's the best way to stop it coming back, or at least as best you can."