2,000 more covid cases in south west

Biggest weekly rise since crisis began

Nearly 2,000 new coronavirus cases have been confirmed in the most recent seven days across Devon and Cornwall.

The total confirmed number of cases since the beginning of the pandemic has shot up to 12,001 across the two counties.

Government statistics show that 1,946 new cases have been confirmed across the region in the past week, compared to 1,662 new cases confirmed last week.

The worst affected areas are North Devon, where cases have nearly doubled, and in East Devon and Torbay, where cases have more than doubled. A more positive pattern is emerging in Teignbridge, which has seen the number of new cases fall.

Cornwall, Mid Devon, Torridge and West Devon have seen small rises, as has the South Hams, with three more cases confirmed this week than last week.

Plymouth had the highest number of new cases confirmed, but the total only rose by one compared to last week, while Exeter saw the exact same number of new cases as the previous week, and is also no longer the area with Devon County Council’s boundaries with most cases. That's now  East Devon.

Of the 1,946 new cases confirmed since October 30, 341 were in Cornwall, 207 in East Devon, 196 in Exeter, 73 in Mid Devon, 113 in North Devon, 427 in Plymouth, 79 in the South Hams, 103 in Teignbridge, 305 in Torbay, 41 in Torridge and 51 in West Devon.

This compares to the 1,662 new cases confirmed between October 24 and 30, which saw 311  in Cornwall, 124 in East Devon, 196 in Exeter, 52 in Mid Devon, 64 in North Devon, 426 in Plymouth, 76 in the South Hams, 117 in Teignbridge, 213 in Torbay, 35 in Torridge and 38 in West Devon.

The number of people in hospital in the south west rose to 514 from 386 last week and there are currently 67 people on mechanical ventilators. Across Devon and Cornwall, people in hospital following a positive covid-19 test has risen by 50 per cent in the last week.