Coronavirus case rates across several districts in Hertfordshire are now as low as what they were at the end of the November lockdown, figures show.

Covid infections have been coming down across the county during England’s third national lockdown, and Boris Johnson has said he is “hopeful” coronavirus restrictions can be cautiously eased in the coming weeks.

The Prime Minister said he wanted the current national lockdown to be the last – and for the unlocking to be “irreversible” – ahead of the publication of his road map next week.

Mr Johnson will analyse data this week on coronavirus case numbers, hospital admissions, deaths and the impact of the vaccine rollout as he prepares his plan to reduce restrictions.

What are the latest case rates for Hertfordshire?

The latest data shows no district in the county having a rate higher than 200 cases per 100,000 population, while some are close to dropping below 100.

This is similar to how infection rates were looking when England came out of the second lockdown in November before starting to rise - and the number of cases now compared to how they were at the start of 2021 is a welcome change.

Watford for example had been recording a rate of around 1,000 cases per 100,000 population at the start of the year, but this has now dropped to 163.6 in the seven days to February 11.

East Hertfordshire is currently the only district to have dropped below 100 cases per 100,000 population, recording a rate of 75.5 in the same time period.

Below you can see the latest infection rate data for your area and how it compares to the previous three months.

Hospital admissions and deaths

The number of patients being cared for by West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust is now lower than what it had been during January.

Watford General Hospital, which the trust runs, had been under extreme pressure earlier this year and this had been highlighted in an ITV report.

Vicky Houghton, an intensive care matron at Watford General Hospital, told ITV: "We're seeing families, we're having families coming in and we're seeing families being wiped out - which is just so soul-destroying.”

Read more - Inside Watford General Hospital during Covid pandemic

Data shows that more than 300 corornavirus patients were being cared for by West Herts Trust for most of January, but this number started to come down towards the end of the month.

And now, the latest data shows that 189 patients were being cared for by the trust as of February 9.

Meanwhile, latest NHS England figures show one further corornavirus patient died at West Herts Hospitals Trust on February 4.

It brings the total number of people to have died at the trust up to 847 since the pandemic began.

Vaccinations

Nearly nine in 10 people aged 70 and over in Hertfordshire and West Essex have received their first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, NHS England figures show.

NHS data shows 268,412 people had received their first jab by February 7, an increase of 30 per cent from January 31.

Of those, 168,317 were aged 70 or over ­– equating to 88 per cent of the population in that age group, according to the latest estimates from the Office for National Statistics.

They include:

– 52,630 given to people aged between 70 and 74

– 46,172 given to people aged between 75 and 79

– 69,515 given to people aged 80 and over

The figures cover people vaccinated in the Hertfordshire and West Essex Integrated Care System area ­– a collaboration between local NHS services and councils aimed at improving health care.