Sheffield's infection rate keeps falling - but the city won't get community Covid testing yet

It comes as the Government announced the city will not be among the first areas in England to get community testing.

There were 771 confirmed positive cases in Sheffield in the seven days to 7 December – the latest date for which reliable data is available – at a rate of 132 infections per 100,000 people, slightly lower than the national average. That is down from 950 the previous week at a rate of 162.

Before the city was first placed into Tier 3 on 24 October, the infection rate was about 450 per 100,000 of the population, having been as low as about 20 in the summer.

No other areas in South Yorkshire have been chosen for the enhanced testing support programme to drive down COVID-19 transmission rates.

The Government said decisions about which areas receive community testing will be based on expressions of interest from the local authority and the state of the pandemic in that location.

Sheffield’s health bosses have previously expressed concerns about the accuracy of the lateral flow test kits used for community testing, despite the Government insisting they are safe.

Sheffield City Region mayor Dan Jarvis has said that South Yorkshire is likely to remain under Tier 3 restrictions following the review that will take place on December 17 because four of the five key indicators for areas moving out of Tier 3 are still too high in South Yorkshire.

More than 600 people in the region are currently being treated for coronavirus in hospital, Mr Jarvis said.