Preston and South Ribble have both seen their first week-on-week fall in coronavirus infection rates.

The number of people with Covid-19 per 100,000 people still remain within the top 30 areas in England but the rate of infection appears to have started to slow.

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Preston saw 82 new confirmed coronavirus cases on Monday (2 November), the second-highest increase in Lancashire.

The city’s coronavirus infection rate is now 429.7 per 100,000 people for the seven days to October 29, down from 492.2 for the seven days to October 22.

Preston and Lancashire entered the tighter tier-three restrictions on October 17.

South Ribble recorded 32 new Covid-19 cases for Monday.

The borough’s Covid-19 infection rate is now 364.7 per 100,000 people, down from 434.2 per 100,000 people – both figures for the same dates as Preston.

See the latest coronavirus stats and information for where you live by entering your postcode below

The falling infection rates come ahead of Lancashire, and England, moving into a second national lockdown from Thursday (5 November).

Read more: All the businesses that must close from Thursday under lockdown 2

And during Monday night the North West Ambulance Service declared a ‘major incident’ due to the high volume of calls they were receiving.

A spokesperson said: “Due to the high volume of calls into our service, the trust has declared a major incident. This is being managed in accordance with our usual protocols and we are urging the public to only call us if their condition is life threatening or potentially life threatening.

“Traditionally, Mondays are often a very busy day for us and we are unsure as to why we are seeing a surge today. There is nothing to indicate this increase in calls is in relation to Covid-19. We are putting in place additional support throughout the North West and will be closely monitoring the situation throughout the evening.

“There are patients who face delays and we are very sorry that we are unable to respond as quickly as we would like. Please help us by not calling us to check where the ambulance is as we need those lines to be free for those in a life-threatening condition. However, if you feel you no longer need an ambulance, please let us know.

“Since we declared a major incident we are starting to see a reduction in calls and would like to thank the public for their support.”

Anyone needing medical advice can call 111 or visit the NHS website.

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