The rate of new coronavirus cases in Cornwall and Isles of Scilly grew last week according the the latest government data.

It is based on based on Public Health England data published on October 15 on the government’s coronavirus dashboard, which dates to a few days earlier.

It shows that there were 182 new cases recorded in the seven days leading up to October 11 (Sunday), which represents a rate of 31.8 new cases per 100,000 people.

This was higher than the 153 cases recorded the previous week, in the seven days leading up to October 4, when there was a rate of 26.8 new cases.

The figures are based on tests carried out in laboratories (pillar one of the Government’s testing programme) and in the wider community (pillar two).

Data for the most recent four days (October 12 to15) has been excluded as it is incomplete and does not reflect the true number of cases.

The growth matches the latest information from the government and SAGE (the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies) today in their weekly update on the R number and growth rate for the south west.

READ NEXT:

The R number, which stands for the rate of reproduction, now sits at between 1.3 and 1.6, meaning that, on average, someone with the virus is likely to go on to infect a further 1.3 to 1.6 people - the same as last week.

However, SAGE believes that the potential for infections to grow is now even higher than last week, with the south west showing the highest growth rate of anywhere in the UK.

It has given a growth rate of between +6 per cent and +10 per cent, compared to between +3 per cent and +8 per cent last week.

The growth rate reflects how quickly the number of infections are changing day by day and is an approximation of the percentage change in the number of infections each day.

Nationally the R number for the UK as a whole is 1.3 to 1.5, while the growth rate is estimated to be between +4% and +7% per day.

Currently the south west remains on the 'medium alert' tier, meaning standard nationwide coronavirus restrictions of the 'rule of six' and 10pm hospitality curfew apply as before.

SAGE said it believed this week’s estimates were reliable and that there was still widespread growth of the epidemic across the country, but added: "These estimates represent the transmission of Covid-19 over the past few weeks due to the time delay between someone being infected, having symptoms and needing healthcare.

"Estimates for R and growth rates are shown as a range, and the true values are likely to lie within this range."

These are the latest R and growth rate estimates by NHS England region:

Region R Growth rate % per day

England 1.2-1.4 +4 to +7

East of England 1.3-1.5 +4 to +8

London 1.1-1.4 +2 to +5

Midlands 1.2-1.5 +4 to +7

North East and Yorkshire 1.3-1.4 +4 to +7

North West 1.3-1.5 +5 to +7

South East 1.3-1.5 +5 to +8

South West 1.3-1.6 +6 to +10