The number of coronavirus cases confirmed in the last seven days has fallen across Cornwall and Devon – except in Plymouth where they have almost doubled.

Government statistics show that 96 new cases have been confirmed across the region in the past seven days in both pillar 1 data from tests carried out by the NHS and pillar 2 data from commercial partners, compared to 102 new cases confirmed last week.

Nearly half of the new cases were in Plymouth, where 40 cases were confirmed this week, with 16 in Cornwall, four in Torbay, and 35 across the rest of Devon.

Cases have almost doubled in Plymouth – from 21 to 40 – as the track and trace operation catches those who had been in contact with the ‘Zante 11’, but cases in Cornwall have fallen to 16 to 19, in Torbay they have dropped from 14 to four, and across the rest of Devon, have dropped from 48 to 34.

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And the number of people in hospital in the whole of the south west has fallen to just ten – the lowest number since figures began to be recorded in April.

Not all of the 96 cases related to specimen dates from the last week, with 78 of the cases having a specimen date of between August 28 and September 3, and one of the cases in Teignbridge dating back to July 16.

Of Cornwall's 16 cases, 14 of them occurred between the above period, with five in East Devon, four in Exeter, six in Mid Devon, two in North Devon, four in the South Hams, four in Teignbridge, 35 in Plymouth, four in Torbay, and one in Torridge.

The remaining cases dated back to earlier in August.

By specimen date, the most recent case in Cornwall, Plymouth, East Devon, Mid Devon, North Devon Torbay, Torridge, and the South Hams, is September 2.

And based on cases by specimen date, the number is falling in Plymouth as well. After 14 cases occurred on August 29, subsequent days have so far seen five, three, five, two and zero cases.

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Of the cases with a specimen date of between August 25 and 31, there are currently eight clusters where three of more cases have been confirmed in a Middle Super Output Area (small patches of around 7,200 average population) – four in Devon and four in Plymouth.

It has now been eight weeks since the last cluster was registered in Cornwall.

The majority of the cases confirmed in the most recent week are from the Devon County Council area and from groups of people who had travelled abroad on holiday. Some of them returned with coronavirus, who were picked up immediately by NHS Test and Trace on their return and they and their contacts advised to self-isolate.

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