Sharp drop in rate of COVID-19 infections in BT48 and BT47 post codes of Derry

New figures published yesterday show infections in the BT48 and BT47 postal districts have declined significantly.

DoH publishes a weekly breakdown of coronavirus prevalence by postal area.

Yesterday it reported that between October 19 and October 25 the case rate in BT48 fell to 691.6 per 100,000 people with 420 new positive cases in total recorded over the week. That was down from a case rate of 1,155.9 per 100,000 just one week ago - the highest of any postal district in the north.

An equally sharp decline was reported in BT47 which covers the Waterside and its rural hinterland as far as Dungiven. The rate there fell to 595.5 per 100,000 from a high of 997.4 last week. There were 366 new positive cases over the seven days.

Last week BT48 and BT47 had by far the highest incidence rates of any areas in the north. While the figures locally are still high that’s no longer the case. BT11, which covers West Belfast (780.2) and BT80 which covers Cookstown (767.0) now have higher rates than the westbank of Derry. And BT12 - South Belfast (666.9) and BT15 - North Belfast (627.8) have surpassed the Waterside. The overall rate for Derry and Strabane has fallen to 537.6 per 100,000 with 810 positive cases between October 19 and October 25.

Though still the worst in the north it is markedly down on the figure of 769.9 which was reported this time last week. The daily change in the cumulative number of patients with a positive test in Derry and Strabane between October 24 and October 25 was 77.

In total 5092 have now tested positive for the illness in Derry and Strabane.