THE number of new coronavirus cases confirmed across Devon and Cornwall in the last week was the second lowest since the start of September – with the majority of cases in age groups yet to be vaccinated.

A total of 132 new cases were confirmed across the two counties in the last week – with the total since the start of the pandemic at 48,419 – but slightly up on the total from the previous week which only covered six days due to a day when a net negative was recorded due to false positives being removed.

The 132 though is still the second lowest weekly total since 154 were recorded in the week of September 6-12. The week of August 30-September 5 was the last time the total was lower, when 96 cases were recorded.

Only one case in anyone aged 80 or over was recorded, with more than half of the areas of the two counties not seeing any cases in the over 60s either.

Infection rates in Cornwall and Torbay are in the bottom ten in England, with Plymouth and Devon also well below the national average.

Government stats show that 132 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 108 new cases confirmed last week, albeit only covering six days.

Of the 132 new cases confirmed since May 21, 16 were in Cornwall, 7 in East Devon, 18 in Exeter, 9 in Mid Devon, 7 in North Devon, 24 in Plymouth, 18 in South Hams, 11 in Teignbridge, 13 in Torbay, 8 in Torridge and 1 in West Devon.

This compares to the 108 new cases confirmed between May 15-21, of which 26 were in Cornwall, 5 in East Devon, 11 in Exeter, 4 in Mid Devon, 6 in North Devon, 14 in Plymouth, 19 in South Hams, 13 in Teignbridge, 4 in Torbay, 2 in Torridge, and 4 in West Devon.

Despite the total for this week carry seven not six days’ worth of data, the number of new cases in Cornwall, the South Hams, Teignbridge and West Devon are down week on week.

At a district level, infection rates in East Devon, Mid Devon, North Devon, South Hams and West Devon are highest in the 0-19s, with Torbay, Plymouth, Exeter and Teignbridge in the 20-39s – the groups least likely to have been vaccinated and most likely to be mixing.

Steve Brown, Director of Public Health Devon said: ‘We have a low coronavirus case rate across Devon, and that is thanks to the effort everyone continues to put in to complying with the restrictions and following the guidance around regular asymptomatic testing, social distancing, hand washing and wearing a face covering when required.

‘We need to be cautious though, because outbreaks can and do still happen and when numbers are low, even a small rise can cause a big jump the case rate.’

The statistics, which provide the position as of May 26, show that there have been 1,169,431 vaccines delivered in Devon, with 755,614 being a first dose, and 521,861 being a second dose.