Coronavirus cases in Sheffield pass 1,000 mark, but city slides down national infection table

Just a week ago, Sheffield had the second most confirmed cases outside of London, behind only Birmingham, and was considered by some to be a COVID-19 hotspot.

But experts explained this was most likely down to better testing in the city – and the latest figures would suggest they were right.

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Sheffield now has 1,020 confirmed cases – which is only the eighth most outside of London – and is behind Lancashire, with 1,111.

Its slide down the table coincides with efforts to increase testing nationally, with 16,095 tests across the UK on Wednesday, as the Government seeks to test 100,000 people a day by the end of April.

Across the UK, according to the latest figures from Public Health England, there were 65,077 cases confirmed as of 9am on Thursday, April 9, including 4,344 in the last 24 hours.

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A total of 7,978 people have now died at hospitals across the country, including 71 in Sheffield, with 881 more deaths confirmed yesterday.

Sheffield Teaching Hospitals reportedly began testing all symptomatic NHS workers before most other areas, while a temporary drive-through testing facility which opened just off the Parkway at the beginning of March may also have inflated figures.

The true number of people who have had coronavirus in the UK is thought to be much higher than the number of confirmed cases, as most people recover at home or never show any symptoms.

Sheffield's coronavirus death toll continues to rise