A month of infection rates too low to measure

RATES of new coronavirus infections have now been too low to measure in much of Ashbourne for four consecutive weeks.

The latest data up to Monday still shows the town had fewer than three individual cases in the last seven-day period, which means any recorded cases will not be published in case individuals can be identified.

In the previous week of data the Ashbourne North ward had fewer than three cases, while the more urban Ashbourne South Ward saw three. This, however, has now dipped below three once more.

Almost all the town’s neighbouring wards have also now dipped below the data threshold, except for Doveridge, Brailsford and Bradley, which saw an impact in its numbers from an outbreak at Sudbury Prison.

The latest week of data, however, shows the ward saw a drop of 56 cases, down now to just five in a seven-day period. This is still above the national average but another week of decreasing cases would see it drop off the radar by next week.

The only other ward in our area which has seen new cases recorded is Hatton and Burnaston, which encompasses Foston. This, again, saw just five new cases in a week, and numbers are dropping.

Now that almost all of the electoral wards in the Derbyshire

Dales have dipped below the data threshold, the district’s case rate is comfortably below the national average once more, and its rolling rate – measured per 100,000 population – is just 22.1. The lowest in the county.

Derbyshire as a whole continues to shine in terms of its falling case rates, and its rolling rate is now 38.2 after a drop of 148 cases last week. Its previous rolling rate was 56.7.