Covid infection rates for each neighbourhood across Suffolk and north Essex have been released by the Government, pinpointing the areas with the highest levels of the disease.

New postcode-level data published on Saturday night divides the region up into local areas of approximately 8,200 people called MSOAs, providing the seven-day infection rate and the number of cases up to Monday, September 20.

In total, 72 out of the 145 MSOAs in our region recorded a rise in Covid cases in the seven days to September 20.

The highest rates were in West Bergholt & Wormingford near Colchester with 894.5 infections per 100,000 people and 58 new cases, Stanway near Colchester with 732.5 per 100,000 and 67 new cases, and Castle Hill in Ipswich with 621.4 per 100,000 and 43 new infections.

The 72 postcode areas reporting a rise in cases can be found in the table below

Felixstowe East, where cases fell in the week to September 20, recorded the region’s lowest infection rate with 48.2 cases per 100,000 people and four positive tests reported in total.

Despite a rise in cases being reported in some areas, hospitalisations to the three main hospitals have fallen by almost a third in the past fortnight.

Vaccination rates in the Suffolk and north-east Essex NHS area are also among the highest in the country with 84.3% of the adult population receiving both jabs by September 19.

At local authority level, of 377 areas in the UK, 204 (54%) saw a week-on-week rise in rates in the seven days to September 20 while 169 (45%) recorded a fall. Four were unchanged.

Districts recording rises included East Suffolk with 757 cases (669 the previous week), and Babergh with 220 (up from 185).

Ipswich, Colchester, Tendring and Mid Suffolk all recorded falls.

Nationally, the highest Covid rates in the UK are all in Wales.