Devon has lowest Covid infection rates in England – with East Devon ranked 5

Coronavirus infection rates in Devon are now the lowest in England, latest figures have revealed.

East Devon ranks at fifth lowest out of the 315 English local authority areas.

The latest seven day rolling average for Covid-19 infection rates shows that the Devon County Council area now has England's lowest infection rate at 84.4/100,000.

The figures, based on specimens from January 21-27, also show that at a lower tier authority level, the five places in England with the lowest infection rates are all in Devon.

Torridge (43.9/100,000) has England's lowest infection rate, with North Devon (49.4/100,000) second, Exeter (78.4/100,000) third, South Hams (90.8/100,000) fourth and East Devon (91.6/100,000) with the fifth lowest.

Teignbridge (98.4/100,000) sits seventh lowest, with West Devon (104/100,000) ninth and Mid Devon (113/100,000) in eleventh of the 315 English local authority areas.

But Steve Brown, Director of Public Health Devon, said that while cases of COVID-19 are now falling in Devon, case numbers are still much higher than they were for large parts of last year

He said: "It looks like the current restrictions are having a positive impact and we are starting to see cases come down.

"While clearly it's good news cases are coming down, they are still higher than in November and December, so now is not the time to drop our guard, so please stay at home and stick to the rules."

Devon's infection rate of 84.4/100,000 is the lowest since December 15, 2020, with cases for the two week period prior to that having been at a lower level.

Cases rates still remain highest in the over 90s age group, followed by the 30-39 year-olds, with the lowest infection rates in Devon in the 70-79 year-olds and those 0-14.