It's another Friday evening, so let's have a look at the coronavirus data for Devon and Cornwall, and for the second week in a row, there has been a small rise in the number of new cases confirmed in the two counties

Government statistics show that 42 new cases have been confirmed across the region in the past seven days in both pillar 1 data from tests carried out by the NHS and pillar 2 data from commercial partners, compared to 34 new cases confirmed last week.

It means that an average of 6 rather than 4.85 cases a day are being confirmed across the two counties, with 32 of the 42 cases having a specimen date having a specimen date from August 14 to August 21, and the other ten dating back to August 10.

The number of confirmed cases in Cornwall over the last week has dropped from 14 to eight, while the same number of cases, seven, were recorded in Plymouth – of which four were in the Honicknowle & Manadon MSOA area.

In Torbay, the number has risen from one to three, while across the rest of Devon, the numbers have more than doubled, from 12 to 26. But other than a cluster of four cases in Seaton, it would appear that the rise in Devon is around individual cases rather than outbreaks

It means that in Cornwall, at present, 1.14 cases a day on average are being confirmed, with one case a day in Plymouth, with 0.42 cases in Torbay and 3.71 across the rest of Devon.

Of the cases confirmed in the last week, four of Cornwall’s cases occurred with the specimen date of August 14 or later, with five of the cases in Plymouth, 22 in Devon, and one case in Torbay.

Across the Devon County Council area, of the 22 cases, nine were in East Devon (of which four were in Seaton), four in Exeter, three in Mid Devon and North Devon, two in the South Hams and Teignbridge, and one in Torridge. No new cases were confirmed this week in West Devon.

By specimen date, the most recent case in Teignbridge, Exeter, Mid Devon, Torridge and the South Hams is from August 19, from August 18 in East Devon, Plymouth, North Devon, Torbay, and Cornwall, and August 10 in West Devon.

Across the whole of the South West, 230 cases have so far been confirmed for the previous seven day period, with 68 of them in Swindon, which despite media reports of facing a ‘local lockdown’, has seen the number of new cases decrease in the past week.

In terms of cases by specimen between August 11 to August 17 and reported by August 21, there are two Middle Super Output Areas across Devon and Cornwall that had four cases confirmed - Honicknowle & Manadon in Plymouth and Seaton in East Devon. Everywhere has had 0-2 cases.

The number of people in hospital with COVID-19 in the South West has fallen in the previous week, dropping down to 17 from 18, with there being just one person in intensive care.

This week did see three hospital deaths in the South West – but the last death in a hospital in Devon and Cornwall occurring on June 29. ONS data for the most recent week saw no deaths in Devon for the second week in a row (and one in a Cornish care home)

The R Rate for the South West is now being estimated as between 0.8 and 1.1, up from 0.8 to 1.0 as of last week, but could be both the lowest and highest in the country, covers a large area, and low case numbers mean the estimates is insufficiently robust to inform policy

Torridge remains the place in England with the lowest overall positivity rate, and is 3rd in the overall table behind Na h-Eileanan Siar (Outer Hebrides) and the Orkney Islands.

Including Scotland and Wales as well, the South Hams is 7th, North Devon 9th, West Devon 10th, Teignbridge 13th, East Devon 14th, Cornwall 15th, Exeter 21st, Torbay 27th, Mid Devon 48th and Plymouth 51st of the 369 regions

In total, Torridge has had 57 positive cases, West Devon 75, with 103 in the South Hams, 125 in North Devon, 215 in Mid Devon, 217 in Teignbridge, 239 in East Devon, 258 in Exeter, 288 in Torbay, 693 in Plymouth and 961 in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

Still no reports of any outbreaks or cases linked to any hospitality businesses or pubs so the reopening of the hospitality industry hasn't yet had any significant impact and while there has been a small rise, the number of cases still remain very low.

While there has been a small increase in the number of cases, only six people a day in a region of two million people are testing positive for coronavirus, and those cases are not translating into hospitilisations and/or deaths

Usual caveats apply about these only being the reported cases, but covers anyone who has had a test and tested positive. May be (probably is) others out there with covid but no symptoms, but obviously unless you get tested, there isn't going to be any data around

Would definitely prefer to see the number of cases falling rather than rising, but the numbers remain very low in comparison with the rest of the country, and have fallen this week in Cornwall

Coronavirus cases rising in Devon and falling in Cornwall https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/coronavirus-cases-rising-devon-falling-4447435