The rate of new coronavirus cases in Cornwall has risen week-on-week after seeing more than 100 extra positive test results registered than seven days earlier.

As of yesterday evening (Thursday, October 29) Cornwall and Isles of Scilly had 280 new cases reported in the seven days leading up to October 25, which represented a rate of 49.0 new cases per 100,000 people.

This was compared to the 176 case recorded in the previous week, leading up to October 18, at a rate of 30.8 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 26 to 29, 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.

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Blackburn with Darwen continues to have the highest rate in England, with 1,203 new cases recorded in the seven days to October 25 – the equivalent of 803.6 cases per 100,000 people.

This is up from 576.5 cases per 100,000 in the seven days to October 18.

Oldham has the second highest rate, up from 469.0 to 693.3, with 1,644 new cases.

Wigan is in third place, where the rate has risen from 460.4 to 683.4, with 2,246 new cases.

However, the estimated rate is slowing in the south west as a whole, which now has a reproduction number - or 'R' - of 1.2 to 1.5.

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 and is down from the 1.3 to 1.6 estimated seven days ago.

Today's figures also shows that SAGE expects the virus to grow at a slower rate than last week. It is now estimating a rise of between +4 per cent and +7 per cent in new infections each day, which while still growing, it is a slower rate than predicted last Friday, which was +5 to +9 per cent.

The predictions for the south west have moved closer to other parts of the country, although the R number for the UK as a whole being between 1.1 and 1.3, and a growth rate of between +2 per cent and +4 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 1.1-1.3 +3 to +5

East of England 1.2-1.4 +3 to +6

London 1.1-1.3 +2 to +5

Midlands 1.2-1.4 +3 to +6

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

North West 1.0-1.2 +1 to +3

South East 1.2-1.4 +3 to +6

South West 1.2-1.5 +4 to +7