Basingstoke has one of the highest Covid infection rates in the UK

Figures released this afternoon, indicate there are now only 14 local authority areas that have worse rates than Basingstoke and Deane.

The most recent comparable data available shows that the average rate per 100,000 people has increased from 1561.7 in the week to January 24 to 1590.9 in the seven days to January 31, according to the Press Association, the national news agency monitoring these figures.

Basingstoke has the highest rate in the whole Hampshire, but nearby Reading was in 14th with figures of 1691.4 to 1633.4.

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In the last 24 hours the number of Covid cases in Basingstoke increased by 322 – and two more deaths were recorded.

A total of 44,199 cases had been confirmed in Basingstoke and Deane, since the start of the pandemic, when the UK coronavirus daily dashboard was updated on today (Friday), up from 43,877 on Thursday.

The rate of infection in Basingstoke and Deane now stands at 24,864 cases per 100,000 people, lower than the England average of 26,839.

Since January 31, the UK Health Security Agency has changed the way it reports coronavirus cases.

It means if one person tests positive for the virus more than 90 days after the first infection, two infection episodes will be recorded.

Across the UK, the number of recorded cases increased by 82,053 over the period, to 17,689,885.

People with a positive lateral flow test no longer need to take a follow-up PCR test to confirm the result unless they have coronavirus symptoms.

UK case numbers currently only include LFT results for England and Northern Ireland, with lateral flow testing data for Scotland due to be added in the coming weeks.

There were also two more coronavirus deaths recorded in the latest 24-hour period in Basingstoke and Deane.

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The dashboard shows 317 people had died in the area by February 4 (Friday) – up from 315 on Thursday.

They were among 20,142 deaths recorded across the South East.

The figures include anyone who died within 28 days of a positive test result for Covid-19, and whose usual residence was in Basingstoke and Deane.

Daily death counts are revised each day, with each case backdated to the actual date of death.

The figures also show that more than four in five people in Basingstoke and Deane have received two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine.

The latest figures show 137,018 people had received both jabs by February 3 (Thursday) – 82 per cent of those aged 12 and over, based on the number of people on the National Immunisation Management Service database.

Across England, 84 per cent of people aged 12 and above had received a second dose of the jab.

Unlike at local level, the national rate was calculated using mid-2020 population estimates from the Office for National Statistics.

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