With the prime minister warning of a second wave of coronavirus earlier this week, it is natural that people will be asking questions about their local towns.

In Basingstoke, coronavirus has been present since the beginning of March, though the number of local cases has fallen dramatically in recent months.

Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital is free from coronavirus, as The Gazette reported last week.

Three new cases of coronavirus were reported this week but this is far less than other parts of the country.

Coronavirus cases in Basingstoke have been falling. 

The picture isn't the same for the rest of the country, however.

Coronavirus cases are soaring in Shropshire, Swindon and North Yorkshire, according to official data.

Official statistics reveal infections nearly tripled in Shropshire in the week ending July 28, rising by 280 per cent after 19 people caught the virus. Overall the Covid-19 case rate is still just 5.9 people per 100,000 population but the sharp seven-day rise will have officials keeping a close eye on the West Midlands county.

Sixty-five more people were infected over the same time period in Swindon, causing its infection rate to soar by 225 per cent in the space of a week to 29.3.  The Wiltshire town's rate is now higher than all but three boroughs of Greater Manchester. 

North Yorkshire also recorded a 200 per cent rise in cases between July 22 and July 28, following 18 new infections in seven days. But the case rate for the region, home to 615,000 people, is still tiny (2.9). 

Public Health England chiefs named 26 hotspots, including the locked-down Leicester and its surrounding Oadby and Wigston district. They also admitted they were monitoring outbreaks in Luton, which has already seen further restrictions imposed.

The ten areas whre the infection rate is the highest per 100,000 residents 

Blackburn with Darwen 83.3

Oldham 57.3

Leicester 55.7

Bradford 46.8

Trafford 39.3

Calderdale 36.7

Swindon 29.3

Rochdale 27.3

Manchester 27.2

Sandwell 26