Area in North Devon now has England's lowest coronavirus infection rate

An area in North Devon now has England’s lowest coronavirus infection rate – only 15 days after it recorded the highest rate across the country.

Having had the highest rate through the end of November and early December, Torridge now has a rate of 476/100,000.

They have risen slightly over the past week but, the area has not yet seen the surge that other regions are seeing as Omicron continues to spread across the UK.

North Devon as a whole has the second lowest infection rate. Cornwall has the fourth lowest with Torbay and Mid Devon fifth and sixth, respectively. West Devon and Teignbridge also fall within the 20 places across England with the lowest covid rates.

It comes as Health Secretary Sajid Javid confirmed that no further restrictions would be brought in across the country in the run up to the New Year.

"We look at the data on a daily basis – that hasn’t changed over the Christmas period," he said.

“But there will be no further measures before the new year. Of course, people should remain cautious as we approach New Year’s celebrations.

“Take a lateral flow test if that makes sense, celebrate outside if you can, have some ventilation if you can."

Elsewhere in the West Country, case numbers and infection rates across Bristol, South Gloucestershire and Bath continue to rise rapidly.

South Gloucestershire has seen an uptick of around 50%, both reporting over 600 new cases of the virus over the past week.

Bristol recorded an increase of 2,639 cases meaning a 75% increase from the week before.