Devon's coronavirus hotspots in Torquay

Parts of Torquay are recording 30 or more positive results for COVID-19

Author: Daniel Clark - Local Democracy Reporting ServicePublished 21st Jan 2021

Chelston, Cockington & Livermead, and Babbacombe & Plainmoor are the areas of Devon that currently coronavirus hotspots based on cases confirmed in the past week.

Based on specimens from between January 9 and 15, they are among the ten areas that recorded 30 or more positive results for COVID-19 by residents.

At the other end of the scale, Sidmouth Town in East Devon, Woolacombe, Georgeham & Croyde and Bratton Fleming, Goodleigh & Kings Heanton in North Devon, and Shebbear, Cookworthy & Broadheath and Hartland Coast in Torridge recorded between 0-2 positives.

It comes as Steve Brown, Devon’s Director of Public Health, has urged people to still stay home as much as you can and be extra careful when you need to go out, but that ‘hope is on the horizon’, as the number of new coronavirus cases in Devon has started to fall.

"The steep rise in Covid cases we have seen since Christmas now looks like it’s beginning to level off in Devon and our numbers are stabilising.

"That is down to each and every person sticking to the spirit of the lockdown rules as much as they can to break the chain of transmission."

Steve Brown, Devon’s Director of Public Health

Cases rates in Devon have fallen for seven successive days, and infection rates in Torridge and North Devon are now below the 100 per 100,000 mark

TOP TEN AREAS BY NUMBER OF CASES

  • Chelston, Cockington & Livermead – 40
  • Ottery St Mary & West Hill – 35
  • Exmouth Littleham – 35
  • Mincinglake & Beacon Heath – 35
  • Middlemoor & Sowton – 34
  • Ogwell, Mile End & Teigngrace – 33
  • Wellswood – 33
  • Babbacombe & Plainmoor – 31
  • Kingsteignton – 30
  • Newton Abbot, Highweek – 30

If sorted however by infection rates, because not all of the MSOAs have the same population, then Babbacombe & Plainmoor in the area of Devon which has the highest proportion of cases, with an infection rate of 551 per 100,000 population.

Honiton North & East, Dartmouth, and St Thomas West are also in the top ten by infection rates, as while they have a lower total that some areas, they have a lower population

TOP TEN AREAS BY INFECTION RATES

  • Babbacombe & Plainmoor – 551/100,000
  • Mincinglake & Beacon – 498/100,000
  • Newton Abbot, Highweek – 487/100,000
  • Honiton North & East – 487/100,000
  • Exmouth Littleham – 465/100,000
  • Dartmouth – 460/100,000
  • Wellswood – 420/100,000
  • St Thomas West – 398/100,000
  • Ogwell, Mile End & Teigngrace – 393/100,000
  • Ottery St Mary & West Hill – 392/100,000

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