SHROPSHIRE finds itself heading a West Midlands regional chart in a way that it would not want.

Latest figures show that the county has the highest Covid-19 infection rate in the country.

In the last week for which figures are available there were 1,538 new cases reported, a jump of 24 per cent over the previous seven days.

There were 60 hospital beds in Shropshire occupied by people with a Covid-19 diagnosis and eight people had died with the virus.

The seven-day infection rate for Shropshire was 472.6 per 100,000 which was significantly higher than for the West Midlands region and England as a whole.

Rachel Robinson, Shropshire’s director of public health says that what is happening in the county is typical of the picture in other rural areas but that the number of cases need to fall.

People are urged to follow the hygiene guidance and get vaccinated when invited.