THE rate of Covid-19 infection shows no sign of letting up in Somerset.

More than one in 40 people have contracted the virus in the worst hit district in the county, while 315 new confirmed cases were reported in the latest daily figures.

There have now been a total of 11,290 positive tests across the whole of Somerset since the pandemic began. The overall total of cases will be much higher as many people will not have had symptoms and will be unaware they have had the coronavirus.

The latest daily figures released by the Government show there were 72 new confirmed cases in South Somerset (which has an overall total of 3,021 confirmed cases); 108 in Somerset West and Taunton (3,286); 85 in Sedgemoor (3,102); and 50 in Mendip (1,881).

The rates of confirmed cases per 100,000 of population since the start of the pandemic now stand at 1,794.5 in South Somerset; 2,118.4 in SWT; 2,518.3 in Sedgemoor (equating to more than one in 40 people); and 1,627.3 in Mendip.

The latest rolling seven-day figures show 447 positive tests in South Somerset at a rate of 265.5 per 100,000, up from 250.7); 697 in SWT (rate of 449.3 per 100,000, up from 429.4); 591 in Sedgemoor (rate of 479.8 per 100,000, up from 448.9); and 307 in Mendip (rate of 265.6 per 100,000, up from 242.2).