CALL FOR GOVERNMENT TO PUBLISH REGIONAL BREAKDOWN OF 'R' VALUE TO RESTORE CONFIDENCE

ATHERSTONE and North Warwickshire had another three new cases of Covid-19 out of 72 additionally reported across neighbouring local authorities over the weekend.

The official total of 173 lab-confirmed cases comes as Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham has called for the Government to publish the R value per region in England to help communities ease lockdown restrictions.

The former Labour MP said the Prime Minister could fracture national unity unless he listens to regional concerns, adding the lifting of measures have come too quickly.

He called for the Boris Johnson-led Government to publish a regional breakdown of the R value – which measures how many people on average one infected person transmits the disease to – to give people confidence they are making the right decisions at the right time, including on the reopening of schools.

His comments come as the UK's daily figure for Covid-19 deaths fell to 170 – the lowest since the day after lockdown began.

But the overall death toll is second only to the US as it passes the 90,000 milestone.

Meanwhile, newly-released figures put the cases of people testing positive in the district at a rate of more than 260 per 100,00 population.

The statistics are revealed in additional information on 'lower tier' local authorities provided by the Government via the Office for National Statistics more than 100 days since the first case of coronavirus was reported in the UK.

The borough sits fourth out of nine in terms of cases per 100,000 among the neighbouring local council areas bordering Atherstone.

North Warwickshire's case rate of 266.8 per 100,000 population is higher than the Warwickshire figure of 239.8 and England (256) and the West Midlands at 266.4. The UK figure of 358.6 per 100,000 population is bumped up by a Welsh rate of 392.

Solihull tops the cases per 100,000 table for authorities around Atherstone's North Warwickshire borough – passing the 300 barrier at 301.5. It has recorded a total of 648 Covid cases.

Close neighbours Nuneaton and Bedworth have reported 384 cases at the second highest rate of 297.9 per 100,000 population.

With the inclusion of population, recorded cases and rate per 100,000 population, the full table of authorities which have a boundary touching North Warwickshire reads:

Solihull (population 214,909): Cases 648, at rate of 301.5 cases per 100,000;

Nuneaton & Bedworth (pop 128,902): Cases 384 at rate of 297.9 cases per 100,000;

Birmingham (pop 1.08 million): Cases 3,275, at rate of 286.9 cases per 100,000;

North Warwickshire (pop 64,850): Cases 173, at rate of 266.8 cases per 100,000;

Lichfield (pop 103,965:) Cases: 273, at rate of 262.6 cases per 100,000;

Tamworth (pop 76,678 ): Cases 164, at rate of 213.9 cases per 100,000;

Coventry (pop 325,949): Cases 779, at rate of 212.4 cases per 100,000;

Hinckley & Bosworth (pop 112,423): Cases 230, at rate of 204.6 cases per 100,000; and

North West Leicestershire (pop 102,126): Cases 141, at rate of 138.1 cases per 100,000.

Eight people in Atherstone have lost their lives to the virus, putting the town at a current rate of 75 deaths per 100,000, according to the Office for National Statistics, with only Birmingham above on 78.

The figures are relevant for coronavirus deaths between March 1 and April 17.

North Warwickshire, which finds itself surrounded by no fewer than eight other adjoining Midland authorities, has recorded 24 deaths in that timescale – with an ONS mortality rate of 35 per 100,000. Warwickshire's confirmed cases now stand at 1,370 (up 16 over the weekend), Staffordshire is on 2,071 (a rise of 30 in the same period), Leicestershire on 1,139 (increase of 20) and Birmingham on 3,275 |(up 43). Midland cases total 24,016 (up 358), the North West 23,610, while London is on 26,440. The UK death toll increased by 638 over the weekend to 34,636 (468 on Saturday and 170 on Sunday) – the highest in Europe by more than 2,500 with Italy's tally on 31,908 fatalities. But the real figure involving Covid-19 in the UK passed 41,000, according to the latest available data. The Department of Health said in the 24-hour period up to 9am on Sunday, 91,206 tests were carried out or dispatched, with 3,142 testing positive, but for technical reasons Northern Ireland cases were not included. Overall a total of 2,580,769 tests have been carried out, and 243,303 cases have been confirmed positive, not including the most recent Northern Ireland tests. UK now sits fourth in the world table of recorded cases, behind Spain on 277,719 – whose death toll has dropped below 100 for the first time since March – with Russia moving up into second place on 281,752 but only reporting 2,631deaths. The US in the top position – passing through the 90,000 barrier for deaths on 90,246 fatalities and with 1.51 million people testing positive. The death tally across the globe stands at 314,489. Some 1.84 million have recovered worldwide out of 4.77 million recorded cases. Italy is planning to reopen its borders from the beginning of June to EU travellers and as it attempts to lure back tourists to jump start its economy after being in lockdown since March 9 due to the coronavirus pandemic – it will reportedly not include a 14-day quarantine. Britain is not included in the EU or Schengen area, and the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office still advises against all but essential international travel. Meanwhile, Dr Soumya Swaminathan, chief scientist at the World Health Organisation said she believes "society has to restart" but that there will be a new normal. Speaking to the BBC's Andrew Marr Show, she said that people, as well as governments, are grappling with how to "get back to some degree of normalcy without allowing the virus to get the upper hand". Dr Swaminathan said: "It's really maintaining that balance and you have to look at a number of interventions to be put in place as people start going back to work, going back to school, families want to meet again, we want to go shopping, we want to have social events, but at the same time, we know now, what is needed to keep this virus from spreading." She told the show that evidence from countries where schools have remained open suggest that this has not led to large outbreaks of Covid-19. Dr Swaminathan said: "What we have seen in countries where schools have remained open is that there have not been big outbreaks in schools, and where there have been it's been associated with events – where a lot of people gather, not in regular classrooms, and it's often been associated with an adult whose had the infection and has spread it." She added that from what is currently known, it appears that "children are less capable of spreading it, even if they get the infection and certainly are at very low risk of getting ill from the disease".