TOWN GOES FROM BOTTOM OF PUBLIC HEALTH ENGLAND'S LOCAL AUTHORITY LIST TO TOP 40 POSITION

RISE OF 278 PLACES WITH FACE COVERINGS' MANDATE FOR SHOPS AND SUPERMARKETS JUST 48 HOURS AWAY

ATHERSTONE has shot up a league table of new cases of deadly Covid-19 in dramatic fashion.

A week ago North Warwickshire proudly sat in bottom spot of the rolling seven-day rate of new infections for every one of 316 local authorities in the country.

It had registered no rate of case per 100,000 population, falling from a figure of 9.3 per 100,000 the previous week.

But the figures, for the seven days up to July 18, has seen the borough leapfrog 278 places to 38th in the list with a new case rate of 10.8 per 100,000 population.

Neighbours Nuneaton and Bedworth – consistently a hot spot for the virus with a greater case rate per 100,000 population than any of eight local authorities it borders – has seen its new case rate halve from 15.5 to 7.0. It now sits in 60th place in the Public health England stats.

The updated figures, which come just 48 hours before face coverings in shops and supermarkets is made mandatory in England, are based on tests carried out in laboratories (pillar one of the Government's testing programme) and in the wider community (pillar two).

The rate is expressed as the number of new cases per 100,000 population.

League leader is now Blackburn with Darwen, where the rate has jumped from 47.7 in the seven days to July 11 to 78.6 in the seven days to July 18 – with 117 new cases recorded.

Second on the list is Leicester, where the rate has gone down from 125.6 to 73.8, and where 262 new cases have been recorded.

Other areas reporting notable week-on-week jumps include Oadby and Wigston (up from 38.6 to 68.4, with 39 new cases recorded in the seven days to July 18) and Rochdale (up from 40.5 to 46.8, with 103 new cases).

Other authorities' results surround North Warwickshire are below – showing the place in the table, this week's figure showing the rate of new cases in the seven days to July 18, followed by the equivalent figure for the previous seven days to July 11 in brackets.

34th Birmingham 11.5 (6.6)

38th North Warwickshire 10.8 (0.0)

60th Nuneaton and Bedworth 7.0 (15.5)

71st Coventry 6.3 3.8

72nd Hinckley and Bosworth 6.2 (5.3)

104th North West Leicestershire 4.9 (10.8)

106th Lichfield 4.8 (2.9)

134th Tamworth 3.9 (5.2) Three weeks ago Public Health England changes in reporting confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Atherstone and district have seen the totals leap by two thirds overnight – going from 217 to 330. Today's figures in 338 – up seven from a week ago. Under the new figures Atherstone and district have now reported 338 Covid-19 cases at the second highest rate per 100,000 population of any of its neighbouring Midland authorities including Birmingham and Coventry. Its rate is now 521.2 per 100,000 population (previously 334.6) compared with Nuneaton and Bedworth's 862 cases at 668.7 per 100,000 and North West Leicestershire 323 cases at 316.3 per 100,000 population. Warwickshire's total of confirmed cases has risen 25 in a week and now stands at 2,531 with a rate of 443.2 per 100,000. UK cases rose by 445 in the last 24 hours to 295,817. Recorded deaths went up by 110 to 45,422. But the real number of fatalities involving the virus in the UK has passed 55,000, according to the latest available data. On a global note, confirmed cases have now passed the 15 million mark – up two million in a week to 15,099,548 – with fatalities at 619,605, rising more than 50,000 in the last seven days. Some 9,116,277 people have recovered.