Latest coronavirus infection rates in Preston and South Ribble are continuing to show falls as the chief medical officer for England said the UK was ‘past the peak’ in cases and hospital admissions.

New Covid-19 cases for Wednesday (3 February) showed 91 new cases recorded in Preston.

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South Ribble saw 63 cases for the same day.

Wyre is at 42 new cases, Ribble Valley recorded 22, Fylde at 22 and Chorley at 35.

Preston’s coronavirus infection rate is now 349.3 cases per 100,000 people for the seven days to January 30, down from 466 cases per 100,000 people for the seven days to January 23.

See the latest coronavirus cases and information near you

Data for the most recent four days (January 31-February 3) has been excluded as it is incomplete and does not reflect the true number of cases.

South Ribble’s infection rate is now 336.7, down from 409.8 for the same two seven day periods as Preston above.

Wyre is down at 225.7, from 294.4 and Fylde is 267.4, down from 342.9.

Ribble Valley is now 241.4, down from 349.8 and Chorley is 247.9, from 324.

Read more: Area-by-area Covid cases for Preston and South Ribble

‘We are past the peak’

Professor Chris Whitty has said all four nations are now on a downward slope of coronavirus cases, hospital admissions and deaths related to Covid-19.

As the Prime Minister addressed the nation in his latest Downing Street update he was joined by Professor Whitty.

Prof Whitty said: “I think that most of my colleagues think we are past the peak.

“Now that doesn’t mean you could never have another peak. But, at this point in time, provided people continue to follow the guidelines, we’re on the downward slope of cases, of hospitalisations and of deaths, in all four of the nations of the United Kingdom.

“So I think, we do think, at this point, this peak at least, we are past.”

The Prime Minister said the levels of coronavirus cases remained ‘forbiddingly high’ and it was too soon to relax current restrictions.

You can see the full press conference below

The Prime Minister said: “Though today there are some signs of hope – the numbers of Covid patients in hospital are beginning to fall for the first time since the onset of this new wave – the level of infection is still alarmingly high.

“The wards of our NHS are under huge pressure with more than 32,000 Covid patients still in hospital.”

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“We have been worried about vaccine hesitancy in some parts of the country in some communities,” the Prime Minister said.

“That is unquestionably an issue and we are doing everything we can to encourage people to come forward, to give them all the confidence they need. They should have confidence – it’s a great thing to get a vaccine.”

See how many people have been vaccinated and more information below

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