The rate of new coronavirus cases in Cornwall continues to fall in the most recent seven-day update.

As of yesterday evening Cornwall and Isles of Scilly had 175 new cases reported in the seven days leading up to October 18, which represented a rate of 30.6 new cases per 100,000 people.

This was compared to the 183 case recorded in the previous week, leading up to October 11, at a rate of 32 cases per 100,000 people.

The figures are based on tests carried out in laboratories (pillar one of the Government’s testing programme) and in the wider community (pillar two), with the rate expressed as the number of new cases per 100,000 people.

Data for the most recent four days, October 19 to 22, has been excluded as it is incomplete and does not reflect the true number of cases.

The list has been calculated by the PA news agency and is based on Public Health England data published on October 22 on the Government’s coronavirus dashboard.

Read next: Coronavirus in Cornwall round up: Thursday, October 22

The latest R number and growth rate figures for the south west have also been updated this lunchtime.

They show that in the the south west the estimated reproduction rate of the virus is between 1.3 and 1.6. This is the number of people the government and SAGE (the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies) believe someone with the virus will go on to infect.

It also shows that SAGE expects the virus to grow by between +5 per cent and +9 per cent each day. While still growing, it is a slower rate than predicted last Friday, which was between +6 per cent and +10 per cent.

The predictions for the south west are still higher than anywhere else in the country, with the R number for the UK as a whole being between 1.2 and 1.4, and a growth rate of between +3 per cent and +6 per cent each day.

The government states: "It is SAGE’s expert view that this week’s estimates are reliable, and that there is still widespread growth of the epidemic across the country.

"These estimates represent the transmission of Covid-19 over the past few weeks due to the time delay between someone being infected, having symptoms and needing healthcare.

"Estimates for R and growth rates are shown as a range, and the true values are likely to lie within this range."

Currently Cornwall and the south west remains on the 'medium alert' tier, meaning standard nationwide coronavirus restrictions of the 'rule of six' and 10pm hospitality curfew apply as before.

These are the latest R and growth rate estimates by NHS England regions.

Region R Growth rate % per day

England 1.2-1.4 +3 to +5

East of England 1.2-1.4 +3 to +6

London 1.1-1.3 +2 to +5

Midlands 1.1-1.3 +2 to +5

North East and Yorkshire 1.1-1.3 +2 to +5

North West 1.1-1.3 +2 to +5

South East 1.2-1.5 +4 to +7

South West 1.3-1.6 +5 to +9