How county’s infection rate compares with other areas of country

AS parts of the UK are placed under Tier 4 restrictions over Christmas, people in Derbyshire could be concerned the same could happen here.

The Government announced that people living in London, the South East and parts of the East of England won’t be able to leave or meet up with people outside their household for Christmas on Saturday, December 19.

The new restrictions were brought in after a dramatic surge in Covid-19 cases in those parts of the country, something the Government says is being driven by a new strain of the virus.

At a press conference on Monday, December 21, Sir Patrick Vallance, chief scientific advisor to the Government, warned that further restrictions would need to be put in place in some parts of the country in the coming weeks as the number of infections rises.

This could cause concern for people living in Derbyshire, which has been in Tier 3 since the country came out of lockdown on December 2.

However, at the moment, infection rates in the county are a long way below those in places in Tier 4.

For example, Thurrock in Essex has one of the highest infection rates in the country, with 1,061.1 cases per 100,000 people during the seven days leading up to December 16.

Ashford in Kent, which has also been placed in Tier 4, has a rate of 852.1 per 100,000 for the same period.

Even the parts of London with the lowest infection rates are still well above the national average over that time frame, with Westminster having a rolling rate of 287.4 per 100,000.

By comparison the highest infection rate found in Derbyshire over the same period was in Amber Valley, with a rate of 244.3 per 100,000.

However, several parts of the county have infection rates that are higher than some places in Tier 4.

Chiltern, for example, had an infection rate of 191.6 per 100,000 in the week leading up to December 16, lower than four of Derbyshire’s local authorities.

The Government does not only take infection rates into account when deciding which tiers to place local authorities in.

It also looks at four other factors when making its decision.

These include infection rates in the over-60s, the rate at which cases are rising or falling, the number of positive cases as a percentage of tests taken and the pressure being faced in the local NHS.

These are the rates for the districts and boroughs of Derbyshire in this time frame (infection rate per 100,000 people):

Amber Valley – 244.3 Bolsover – 238.3

Derby – 233.6

South Derbyshire – 233.1 North East Derbyshire – 162.6 Chesterfield – 153.5 Erewash – 131.7

High Peak – 114.4 Derbyshire Dales – 87.10