Cases of Covid almost double in parts of county
COVID cases have doubled in the space of a week in some parts of Derbyshire, according to the latest Government figures.
The statistics show that case numbers in the county continued to rise ahead of children returning to school earlier this week.
Some parts of the county, such as Brookside and Walton, and Newbold in Chesterfield, as well as Buxton Burbage and Harpur Hill in High Peak, have seen cases rise by more than 100 per cent in just a week.
Breadsall Hilltop, in Derby, has seen the number of cases of the disease nearly double in the week up to September 5 to give it the highest infection rate in the county.
It saw 55 new cases in that time frame, giving it an infection rate of 923.3 cases per 100,000 people.
Four places in Erewash have among the highest Covid rates in the county, as do three places in High Peak, while Amber Valley and South Derbyshire also have areas with high infection rates.
Hilton and Etwall, in South Derbyshire, saw the largest spike in new cases, with 81 people testing positive for the disease in the seven days up to September 5.
Meanwhile, Cotmanhay, Kirk Hallam,
Ilkeston Town, and Shipley all saw more than 50 new cases during the same time period.
Ambergate, Heage and Idridgehay in Amber Valley had the lowest infection rate – with only eight news cases identified during this time frame giving it a rate of 120.4 per 100,000.
It comes as the Derbyshire health system has been moved to its highest alert level, which will include cancelling some operations, due to rising pressure on the health system as a whole.
On a national level the number of new cases, hospital admissions and deaths linked to the disease has continued to rise. However, experts say the number of people suffering from serious illness and deaths linked to the disease is much lower than at similar periods during the pandemic due to the rollout of vaccines.