Coronavirus cases in Wiltshire have stopped rising, the council's health boss has said, but aren't falling yet.

In the past week, the rate of new cases has remained "relatively constant," which Wiltshire Council's public health director says is "encouraging".

Nonetheless numbers remain "very high" and it is "vital" that people continue to abide by lockdown rules to bring the case rate down.

Speaking during a media briefing on January 19, Kate Blackburn said: "Whilst it is encouraging that the Covid cases are no longer rising at the very fast rate we saw earlier in the month, the number of cases in the population is still very high and it is vital that we all continue to follow the rules.

"We need to bring the case rate down to reduce the number of individuals becoming ill and to alleviate pressure on our health and care system, our businesses and our educational settings."

In the latest seven-day period, 1,784 new cases were recorded in the Wiltshire Council area which gives a rate of new cases of 356.8 per 100,000 people.

It remains below the average for England which stands at 520.4 but it is slightly higher than the average for the South West (349.7).

The number of deaths where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate has risen by 12 in the past week, bringing the total since the start of the pandemic to 474.

An increase in cases has also been detected in care homes, Mrs Blackburn said, with the number of settings affected rising from 30 to 40 in the week ending on January 14.

The council's public health boss said this was mainly due to "larger outbreaks" in a number of care homes but pointed out that rapid testing is being rolled out to keep staff, residents and visitors safe.

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