South West's Covid-19 infection rates higher than ANY region and Cornwall is top
The Duchy has reached 771.3 per 100,000 people, which is almost double that of Bath and Bristol
Last updated 26th Aug 2021
Public Health England has issued an update on the south-west's coronavirus figures ahead of the Bank Holiday weekend.
It has the highest infection rates of any region in the UK and Cornwall tops the list.
The Duchy recorded almost 4,500 new cases in the week to Friday 20th August.
That is a case rate of 771.3 per 100,000 people, which is almost double the rates in Bath and Bristol.
You can check the latest coronavirus figures and case rates for Cornwall on Public Health England's interactive map.
Speaking at a briefing on Wednesday (August 25th), Deputy Regional Director, Professor Mike Wade, gave an explanation for why we might be seeing such high figures.
"Last summer, we were sort of in and out of lockdown periods or arrangements to protect from that influx of visitors coming in.
"This is our first, almost, real season of opening up outside of those restrictions so it's the first time we're dealing now with such a large influx of visitors".
Professor Wade also insisted the figures are not skewed by visitors testing positive: "Your test results will be attributed to the local authority to which you are resident. So unless somebody mistakenly wrote down that 'I was staying at a caravan site' and used that as their residential address, it's allocated to the local authority where you are resident".
Professor Wade also confirmed that cases are "by far" the highest among young people, aged between 15 and 24-years-old.
Wednesday's session followed an earlier briefing from Cornwall Council's Public Health team on Monday (August 23rd), where officials confirmed around 4,700 cases had a potential link to Newquay's Boardmasters festival.
At Monday's briefing, officials urged people to get vaccinated, particularly young people, and asked residents and visitors to make sure they tested regularly.
Head of Visit Cornwall, Malcolm Bell, advised people not to come to the Duchy unless they had booked, ahead of what is expected to be a busy August Bank Holiday weekend.