NEWS | Just 0.3% of COVID-19 tests in Herefordshire are coming back as positive - Herefordshire’s Independent Source of News & Information

Despite over 5,000 PCR tests being completed in Herefordshire in the seven days ending 28th May, just 0.3% of those tested have come back as positive, indicating that the pandemic is currently under control in Herefordshire.

To see such a lovely positivity rate, despite a significant relaxation in restrictions, is certainly positive news and combined with the successful rollout of the COVID-19 vaccines, it really does give hope that we are entering a period where restrictions can be lifted even further on 21st June and perhaps lifted altogether.

Just 18 cases of COVID-19 were recorded in the seven days ending 28th May. This is just 0.3% of the 5,288 PCR tests that were carried out during this period. In comparison, back in the height of the pandemic is January 2021, nearly 11% of over 11,000 tests returned positive results, indicating that back in January, the pandemic was out of control in Herefordshire and spreading at a fast rate.

However, the situation in Herefordshire isn’t being carbon copied across the United Kingdom, with areas such as Bolton, Blackburn, Bedford and Glasgow recorded high levels of COVID-19 cases over recent weeks, mainly due to the COVID-19 variant that was first discovered in India. The spread of the Indian variant will be key to the decision that Prime Minister Boris Johnson will take in the coming weeks, as to whether to relax COVID-19 restrictions further on 21st June.

The areas that recorded the most cases in the seven day period ending 28th May were: (Infection Rates per 100,000 Population in Brackets)

Ledbury – 4 new cases (39.8)

Hereford Central – 5 new cases (49.7)

Penyard, Llangarron & Goodrich – 3 new cases (24.9)

The areas that recorded fewer than three new cases in the seven day period ending 28th May were:

Bromyard & Bishop’s Frome

Hereford North West

Kingstone & Kingsthorne

Leominster North

Leominster South

Hereford North East

Shobdon, Luston & Bodenham