Preston’s coronavirus infection rate continues to remain within the highest infection rates in England.

New cases confirmed for Tuesday (16 March) showed the city recorded 25 new Covid cases – the most of any district in Lancashire.

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South Ribble recorded 20 new cases for the same day.

Wyre was up by seven cases, Fylde by 10 cases, Ribble Valley by just three cases and Chorley by eight cases.

The infection rate for Preston is now 141.1 cases per 100,000 people for the seven days to March 12, down from 143.2 cases per 100,000 people for the seven days to March 5. This leaves Preston seventh in the list of the highest infection rates in England and more than double the average for England.

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Data for the most recent four days (March 13-16) has been excluded as it is incomplete and does not reflect the true number of cases.

South Ribble’s rate is now 116.4, up from 98.4 for the same two date periods as Preston. This has moved the borough to 21st in the list of infection rates by council areas in England.

Ribble Valley’s infection rate is now 83.8, down from 87 and in Fylde it’s down to 59.4, from 81.7.

Wyre’s rate is 41.9, up from 37.5 and Chorley is at 77.8, up from 57.5.

Read more: Three areas in Preston and South Ribble record fewer than three Covid cases

New Covid mutation identified as having come from Philippines

Two cases of a new Covid variant have been found in England.

First reported in the Philippines the two cases have been tracked and traced by Public Health England.

The new strain has been designated as a “variant under investigation” (VUI) rather than a “variant of concern” (VOC), such as the Manaus strain.

It was first reported on March 9 by the Philippines, when 33 cases were recorded.

PHE said it had now identified two cases of the variant in England and that all appropriate public health interventions were being taken.

It said that one of the cases was linked to international travel and the other is still being investigated, but did not confirm where either had been found.

Read more: See the latest Preston news and headlines