Now Nottingham named a coronavirus hotspot as infections soar
DERBY’S closest neighbour has been named as a coronavirus hotspot after the number of confirmed Covid-19 infections soared.
Nottingham, which is roughly 15 miles from Derby, has seen an increase in cases to levels found in areas where strict local lockdown measures are in place.
The rate of infection in Nottingham is of serious concern to Derby and its residents because thousands of people commute between the two cities every day.
Latest figures from NHS England show that there were 1,159 new cases of Covid-19 in Nottingham in the seven days to October 2. This makes Nottingham’s infection rate around 350 cases per 100,000 people, which is the ninth worst in the country after Bradford where strict local measures have been introduced to stop the spread of the virus.
In Derby, those figures are significantly lower, with 157 cases in the week from September 26 to October 2, and an average of 61 cases per 100,000 people. Further afield in Derbyshire, NHS figures show the number of cases recorded in the last seven days was 462 or 59 cases per 100,000 people.
The sharp rise comes after Public Health England revealed thousands of cases had been left out of localised data due to an error with an Excel spreadsheet.
The error has resulted in dozens of areas, including Nottingham, reporting a sudden and drastic increase in the number of positive cases that were previously unknown.
A total of 128 new coronavirus cases were reported in Derbyshire yesterday.
New figures from Public Health England show there have been increases in all areas. The new cases take the total in the county to 5,102.
North East Derbyshire reported 28 new cases while Derby and the High Peak area have recorded 23 and Chesterfield 22.
The news comes as 19 new deaths were reported in the UK over 24 hours, taking the total to 42,369.
There have been no new deaths in Derbyshire reported since yesterday, when one person was reported to have died at Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust. Over the weekend, Derby and Derbyshire also reported a significant rise in the number of cases in the 48 hours from October 2 to October 4.