Wards with the lowest Covid rates in Northumberland.Wards with the lowest Covid rates in Northumberland.
Wards with the lowest Covid rates in Northumberland.

The 27 Northumberland wards with Covid rates below Tier 2 Liverpool and North Yorkshire

Covid rates across Northumberland continue to paint a mixed picture.

Large areas have only a handful of coronavirus cases but there are pockets with higher infection rates, particularly in the west.

Data from Public Health England, published by Northumberland County Council, reveals the county-wide infection rate was 172 per 100,000 on December 14. This compares to 150.8 per 100,000 on December 7.

There were 551 confirmed positive cases in the seven days up to December 14. This compares to 483 confirmed positive cases in the seven days up to December 7.

By comparison, the most recent data reveals Tier 2 Liverpool has a rate of 91.8, Tier 2 North Yorkshire is at 95.9 while London, now in Tier 3, has a rate of 270.

The rate for England is 184.

Several different criteria are being used to determine which areas are in which tier: case rates in all age groups, case rates in the over 60s, the rate at which cases are rising or falling, positivity rate (percentage of tests which come back positive), and pressure on the NHS.

Here are the 27 Northumberland wards with Covid rates below those of Tier 2 Liverpool.