Covid cases in Wiltshire at all time high, graph shows

Public Health England figures show that more cases are now being recorded each day compared to the start of the pandemic and when it first peaked.

This has affected the seven-day average which is at its highest.

New cases by specimen date and the seven-day rate since the pandemic began. Graph from government's coronavirus website

As of October 15, the most recent day for which data is available, the seven-day average of cases in the Wiltshire Council area was 48.3. On that day, 42 cases were reported.

On May 10, when the weekly average last peaked, the figure stood at 32.9.

The increase doesn't necessarily mean that more people are falling ill with the virus compared to the spring. It's likely to be a direct consequence of more cases being detected through increased testing.

As of Thursday October 22, 59 confirmed cases were reported in the Wiltshire Council area in the past 24 hour-period.

This brings the total number of people who have tested positive since the start of the pandemic to 2,498.

How does the average work?

The seven-day average is updated daily. However, there is a lag of seven to eight days.

Each day's observation is combined with the previous three days and the following three days, and the mean of all seven days' figures is presented.

For indicators where the most recent days' data are incomplete, the final few points in the rolling average series are not displayed, as the averages will increase when data are complete.