THE RATE of people testing positive for coronavirus in Test Valley has risen.

On Monday, the latest update of the rolling seven-day rate of new cases of Covid-19 for every local authority in England was released.

The figures, which are for the seven days to July 10, 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 new number of new cases per 100,000 population.

In Test Valley, the figure has risen from 1.6 in the seven days to July 3 to 2.4 in the seven days to July 10.

In Leicester, which has made headlines for its high rate, saw a fall from 117.7 to 114.3. It remains the highest figure in the country.

Second on the list is Pendle, where the rate has gone up from 14.2 to 67.8. This has been caused by a spike in new cases recorded on July 6 and 7.

The jump in the rate for Herefordshire from 1.6 to 36.4 is due to 63 cases being recorded on July 9, linked to an outbreak on a farm near Worcester.

The list is based on latest Public Health England figures updated on July 13 on the Government’s coronavirus online dashboard.

Any data recorded for the three days between July 11 and July 13 have been excluded as it is incomplete and likely to be revised.