Covid-19: Darlington’s rates of infection lowest since September

As restrictions continue to ease across the nation, Darlington is celebrating its lowest rate of infection since September last year.

The current seven-day infection rate of infection for Darlington is 12.2 cases per 100,000 –significantly lower than the overall rate for England (22.6 per 100,000).

The numbers of new infections have not been at this rate since the beginning of September 2020.

Darlington’s rates have dropped significantly since the national peaks seen in early January of this year and continue to decrease faster than England and the North East region.

Councillor Kevin Nicholson, Cabinet Member for Health & Housing, said: “This is fantastic news for Darlington.

“Thank you for all playing your part to keep Darlington safe – by continuing to follow the public health guidance, including taking twice-weekly community tests, we can continue to keep our infection rates low, which will certainly help us as we move into step 3 of the roadmap.

“I would encourage people to take up the offer of the Covid-19 vaccination when they are invited to do so. By being vaccinated you are protecting yourself, your family and our wider communities.”

Everyone in Darlington is encouraged to take up twice weekly testing as per government guidance.

Up to one in three people with Covid-19 do not show any symptoms. Rapid tests are essential to identifying these cases as lockdown restrictions continue to ease.

Free kits of 14 rapid tests are available to click and collect via the Council’s community testing scheme.