THE number of Covid-19 cases in Shropshire continues to rise.

These latest figures come at a time when a Ludlow GP is urging younger people to get vaccinated.

During the seven-day period between June 4-10 there were 83 new cases reported in the county, an increase of more than 160 per cent.

The seven-day infection rate was also well up at 25.7 per 100,000 population.

That is still below the West Midlands regional average of 55.7 per 100,000 and the national average for England that stood at 78.3.

One issue of concern is the high proportion of younger people with the virus.

The average age of people with a positive test was 32.

Almost a third of the cases involved people under the age of 19 and 22 per cent were aged between 20 and 29.

There is an on-going debate about whether the vaccine should be offered to children who experts say are very unlikely to become seriously ill if they get Covid-19 but can transmit the disease to others.

Of the positive cases, 5.7 per cent were aged 70 years or over which was a slight increase.

Everyone over the age of 70 will have been offered two doses of either a Pfizer or Astra Zeneca vaccine.

Whilst the vaccinations have been shown to be highly effective some people who have had the jabs still can get the virus although experts say they are likely to be less ill than if they had been vaccinated.

The reason for the increase in the number of cases is because of the so-called Delta variant that is more easily transmitted. However, there appears to be no evidence that it does not respond to the vaccines. People over 18 are being encouraged to book a jab.