Northampton remains an "area of concern" on Public Health England Covid-19 watchlist

Northampton remains an "area of concern" on Public Health England's Covid-19 watchlist.

And the weekly PHE bulletin reveals a sharp rise in cases in the town during the first ten days of September — with fewer tests being carried out.

Northamptonshire County Council is set to hold its weekly media briefing at 3pm on Friday.

Follow the weekly Covid-19 briefing LIVE via the Chronicle & Echo blog HEREAnd they will do so against a backdrop of latest figures which show 42.3 new coronavirus cases per 100,000 of the borough's population in the period between September 4 and September 10.

That compares to a figure of 24.9 per 100,000 a fortnight earlier, between August 21 and 27.

At the same time, the number of people being tested in the borough fell by nearly 20 per cent, from 262 per 100,000 to 211.

Northamptonshire's Public Health team insisted earlier today that the number of swabs being taken in the county had not "significantly changed."

Next week's figures are also likely to confirm what effect limiting testing to those with appointments has had on the situation with many sharing stories of it being impossible to get times.

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