Latest coronavirus cases confirmed for East Devon

The number of new coronavirus cases confirmed in the last seven days across Devon has fallen – but there has been a rise in Cornwall.

More than 2,000 new coronavirus cases have been confirmed in the last seven days across the two counties – the highest weekly number yet – taking the total since the beginning of the pandemic to 14,071.

But while cases have risen across the two counties, cases in Exeter, Mid Devon, North Devon, the South Hams, Teignbridge and Torbay have fallen week-on-week, along with a decrease in the Devon County Council area.

Any cases confirmed in the last week almost certainly relate to infections caught prior to the second lockdown beginning, with any effect of that not likely to be seen until the start of next week.

Government statistics show that 2,068 new cases have been confirmed across the region in the past seven days in both pillar 1 data from tests carried out by the NHS and pillar 2 data from commercial partners, compared 1,946 new cases confirmed last week.

Cases have risen by 25 per cent in the last week in Cornwall, which rises also seen across Plymouth, Torridge, West Devon, and East Devon – the latter still the worst area within the Devon County Council area.

But Exeter, Mid Devon, North Devon, the South Hams and Teignbridge have all seen cases fall – all of them only by single figures – while cases in Torbay, still high, have dropped by 10 per cent.

Here is a breakdown of the 2,068 new cases confirmed since November 6, compared with the 1,946 cases recorded the week before.

217 - East Devon (207 the week before)

67 - Mid Devon (73)

56 - West Devon (51)

108 - North Devon (113)

189 - Exeter (196)

496 - Plymouth (427)

73 - South Hams (79)

100 - Teignbridge (103)

270 - Torbay (305)

52 - Torridge (41)

440 - Cornwall (341)

Of the 2,068 new cases, 1,558 had a specimen date of between November 6 and November 12, with 349 in Cornwall, 165 in East Devon, 147 in Exeter, 53 in Mid Devon, 78 in North Devon, 348 in Plymouth, 58 in the South Hams, 71 in Teignbridge, 200 in Torbay, 46 in Torridge and 43 in West Devon.

Here are the East Devon figures broken down by local areas using the latest MSOA cluster maps, for between November 2 and November 8:

- Exmouth Town: 22

- Exmouth Littleham: 17

- Exmouth Withycombe Raleigh: 15

- Exmouth Halsdon: 8

- Exmouth Brixington: 5

- Budleigh Salterton: 8

- Sidmouth Town: 7

- Sidbury, Offwell and Beer: 5

- Sidmouth Sidford: 4

- Ottery St Mary and West Hill: 18

- Newton Poppleford, Otterton and Woodbury: 15

- Cranbrook, Broadclyst and Stoke Canon: 17

- Kilmington, Colyton and Uplyme: 5

- Feniton and Whimple: 15

- Clyst, Exton and Lympstone: 13

- Honiton South and West: 12

- Honiton North and East: 9

- Seaton: 8

- Axminster: 7

- Dunkesewell, Upottery and Stockland: 4

The COVID-19 cases are identified by taking specimens from people and sending these specimens to laboratories around the UK to be tested. If the test is positive, this is a referred to as a lab-confirmed case.

Confirmed positive cases are matched to ONS geographical area codes using the home postcode of the person tested.

Graphs by specimen date show cases are rising in Cornwall, East Devon, Torridge and West Devon, as well North Devon and Plymouth, although the latter two show a small decrease in the most recent day's data.

Cases in Exeter and the South Hams by specimen date remain fairly level, with Teignbridge decreasing along with Torbay and Mid Devon.

The number of people in hospital in the South West has risen to 759 from 514 from last week.

Although admissions data has stopped rising. The most recent day of data available was the lowest since October 30.

There are currently 58 people on a mechanical ventilator, down from 67 as of last Friday.

NHS England figures show that as of Tuesday morning, there were 220 patients across Devon and Cornwall, in hospital after a positive Covid-19 test.

Of them:

43 were in Torbay Hospital (up from 38)

69 in Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital (38)

19 in North Devon District Hospital (16)

76 in Derriford Hospital in Plymouth (64)

three in Cornish Partnership Trust hospitals (0)

four in the Royal Cornwall Hospital (down from six).

There are also two beds in Devon Partnership NHS Trust hospitals and four beds in Livewell South West facilities in Plymouth taken up with patients after a positive Covid-19 test.

The numbers of patients in Mechanical Ventilation beds has fallen in the last seven days - as of November 10 there were 17 patients compared to 18 the week before.

There was one patient in Torbay Hospital, two at the RD&E, five in Derriford Hospital, and nine in North Devon District Hospital, with none in Cornwall.

The figures show the amount of patients in hospital following a positive COVID-19 test who are currently occupying a bed.

But not every patient would necessarily have been admitted to hospital due to COVID-19, with a number of patients either contracting the virus inside the hospital, or being admitted for unrelated reasons but subsequently testing positive asymptotically when given routine tests.

In the last eight days, 16 people have died in hospitals in Devon following a positive COVID-19 test, with one in North Devon and Cornwall, four in Plymouth and five in Torbay and Exeter.

But NHS 111 data for Devon shows the R-Rate for the South West remains unchanged at 1.2-1.4.

The number of positive tests broken down by area are:

1,130 - East Devon

327 - West Devon

502 - South Hams

559 - Mid Devon

586 - North Devon

2,279 - Exeter

827 - Teignbridge

1,530 - Torbay

263 - Torridge

2,984 - Plymouth

3,084 - Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly

It comes as the leader of Devon County Council has thanked Devon residents for responding positively to the national lockdown restrictions to help stop the spread of Covid-19 and prevent hospitals from becoming overwhelmed.

Cllr John Hart, leader of the council, said: "The figures suggest that fewer people are out and about, and making journeys only if and when they're necessary. That's what we need to see. I want to thank our residents for the positive way that they have so far responded to this second national lockdown.

"Even with the welcome announcement this week of a vaccine, we must not become complacent. While that of course is an excellent breakthrough, we must not relax our efforts. We must continue to follow the national rules around Space, Face and Hands."