THE number of coronavirus cases confirmed across Devon and Cornwall has fallen by a third for the second week in a row, with declines everywhere.

A total of 1,547 new cases were confirmed across the two counties in the last week as the total for the two counties now stands at 42,935 – the lowest total for seven weeks.

Devon also has the lowest infection rates of any upper tier authority in England, while of it’s eight districts, seven of them are in the bottom 10 of the 315 council areas.

Government statistics show that 1,547 new cases have been confirmed across the region in the past seven days in both pillar 1 data from tests carried out by the NHS and pillar 2 data from commercial partners, compared to 2,327 new cases confirmed last week.

Of the 1,547 cases confirmed since January 29, 592 were in Cornwall, with 108 in East Devon, 51 in Exeter, 105 in Mid Devon, 27 in North Devon, 242 in Plymouth, 55 in South Hams, 114 in Teignbridge, 203 in Torbay, 11 in Torridge and 39 in West Devon

This compared to 2,327 cases confirmed between January 23 and 29 of which 1,005 were in Cornwall, with 152 in East Devon, 110 in Exeter, 107 in Mid Devon, 51 in North Devon, 382 in Plymouth, 80 in South Hams, 137 in Teignbridge, 211 in Torbay, 30 in Torridge and 62 in West Devon

By specimen date though, not everywhere is seeing cases fall, with Mid Devon, Teignbridge and Torbay seeing case rate flat or slightly up.

A total of 1,152 of the cases in the past week have a specimen date between January 29 and February 4, with 439 in Cornwall, 65 in East Devon, 38 in Exeter, 83 in Mid Devon, 19 in North Devon, 180 in Plymouth, 36 in South Hams, 87 in Teignbridge, 164 in Torbay, 9 in Torridge and 33 in West Devon.

Torridge is the area in England with the lowest infection rate (35/100,000), with North Devon second (39/100,000), Exeter third (56/100,000), West Devon fourth (74/100,000), South Hams fifth (78/100,000), East Devon seventh (96/100,000), Teignbridge ninth (100/100,000) in the bottom ten. Plymouth’s is at 116/100,000, with Mid Devon 119/100,000, Cornwall at 151/100,000 and Torbay at 170/100,000.

At upper tier level, Devon has the lowest infection rate in England at 77/100,000, and is the lowest since December 8.

The latest positivity rates for tests carried out at 5 per cent in Cornwall, 3.4 per cent in East Devon, 2.5 per cent in Exeter, 4.7 per cent in Mid Devon, 1.4 per cent in North Devon, 3.7 per cent in Plymouth, 3.3 per cent in South Hams, 3.2 per cent in Teignbridge, 4.3 per cent in Torbay, 1.1 per cent in Torridge and 2.5 per cent in West Devon. Every single area has seen positivity rates fall since last Friday except Torbay.

The number of patients in Devon’s hospitals following a positive Covid-19 test has fallen by nearly 20 per cent in the last week – as beds occupied remain the lowest in England.

As of Tuesday morning, there were 403 patients occupying beds across the county after a positive test, down on the 442 as of the previous Tuesday.

Patient numbers have fallen in Exeter, Plymouth and Torbay, and have remained unchanged in North Devon, while the Nightingale Hospital has seen a slight rise as it continues to take in patients from elsewhere in the country.

Devon’s figures are slightly inflated by the fact that they have been taking in patients from elsewhere in the country, including Somerset and Dorset, because in those regions, they are closer to capacity than Devon is.