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

There were also more deaths from the coronavirus.

During the seven-day period between September 3-9 there were1,145 new cases reported which was an increase of 18 per cent on the previous week.     

   The 7-day infection rate for Shropshire was 351.9 per 100,000. 

It was 345.2 per 100,000 for the West Midlands, and 317.9 for England.

There were 35 hospital beds in the county occupied by Covid-19 patients and seven people died in hospital with the virus.   

“As predicted, with schools returning and offices getting busier after the summer break, the number of positive cases is on the rise again,” said Rachel Robinson, Shropshire’s director of public health.

“The health protection team is currently managing 70 Covid-19 outbreaks, mainly across schools, with 32 new outbreaks declared in the last week.”

She said a high rate of testing is helping to manage the situation.