YORK now has the lowest Covid rate in the region, following another fall in the number of infections.

Public Health England' says the rolling seven day rate in the City of York Council area in the week to July 23 was 301.5 cases per 100,000 people, meaning it is shaded blue on a PHE map.

This compares with 422.3 in the North Yorkshire County Council area, 483.9 in the East Riding of Yorkshire Council area,474.8 in the Leeds City Council area and 830.5 in Stockton on Tees, all of which result in them being shaded purple on the map.

York's rate is also considerably lower than the average of 401.4 for the whole of England and 376.5 for the UK.

However, the number of Covid patients being treated at York and Scarborough hospitals has risen a little further, following the rises in the Covid rate earlier this month.

York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said yesterday it was now treating a total of 37 confirmed and suspected Covid patients, the highest since the current wave began.

It also said four of those patients were in intensive care, again the highest number in this wave.

However, the patient numbers are still only a fraction of the 242 Covid patients being treated at the height of the winter wave on January 26, thanks to the impact of the vaccination campaign.