Covid: Norfolk infections highest since pandemic began

The Covid-19 case rate for Norfolk in the week to 15 December was 566.4 per 100,000 people

The number of daily Covid cases recorded in a county is at its highest since the pandemic began, according to government data.

On Wednesday, 1,052 new cases were identified in Norfolk.

The previous peak was 979 on 29 December last year.

But the number of those in hospital remained "stable", with 66 patients receiving treatment, two of those in critical care, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The week to 15 December also saw cases per 100,000 people hit 566.4.

The previous highest, 535.2, was on 4 January this year.

However, the number of people in the county's hospitals with Covid remained stable, with 66 patients being treated, two of them in critical care.

Figures showed there were 58 confirmed cases of the Omicron variant in Norfolk, plus a further 188 suspected cases.

For the week to 14 December, the overall Covid-19 case rate for Norfolk was 517.8 per 100,000 people, up 22% on the 424.6 per 100,000 the week before.

That was below the East of England average of 735.9 and the England rate of 661.3.

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Cases were highest in Norwich, where rates increased by more than two-fifths, to 635.1 per 100,000 from 450.1, the figures from Norfolk County Council showed.

But South Norfolk saw the biggest percentage case rate increase of 50.1%, up from 358.6 per 100,000 to 538.2.

Broadland had a 30.3% increase to 616.2, while North Norfolk, where the county's first case of the Omicron variant was identified at the end of November, saw a 15.3% rise - from 465.9 to 537.2 cases per 100,000.

Great Yarmouth saw an 11.4% increase to 454.6, while Breckland's case rate rose by 7.2% to 486.4.

For the second week in a row, the King's Lynn and West Norfolk district saw a drop in cases, with the rate of infection falling by 4.2% from 375.5 per 100,000 to 359.7.

Andrew Proctor, leader of Norfolk County Council, previously urged people to take a "few simple steps", including handwashing, taking a testing and keeping windows open, to reduce the risk of infection and "make sure Covid can't ruin our Christmas".