Coronavirus case rates have continued to fall in four of Norfolk’s districts - but health bosses have urged caution and said people need to keep vigilant to bring the numbers down.

After statistics showed infection rates seemed to be slowing, latest figures released by Public Health England showed that, compared to the seven days up to November 12, Covid-19 rates over the seven days up to November 19, fell in Breckland, Broadland, Great Yarmouth and South Norfolk.

South Norfolk dropped from a rate of 209.4 positive cases per 100,000 people to 164.7, while Yarmouth fell from 214.4 to 115.8.

Breckland went down from 137.2 per 100,000 people to 91.4 and Broadland fell from 144.5 to 101.7.

However, there were increases in King’s Lynn and West Norfolk (114.3 to 145.3), Norwich (138.7 to 143) and North Norfolk (51.5 to 63.9).

Across Norfolk there were 1,096 cases in the week up to November 19, compared to 1311 over the previous seven days - potentially encouraging news ahead of Thursday’s announcement over which tiers areas will be in when the national lockdown ends on December 2.

A rise in cases in Wymondham, putting part of the town among the top 25 highest rates in England last week, had prompted a plea for people in the town to take extra care to stem the spread.

In the seven days up to November 11, there were 117 cases in the town, but latest figures show that had dropped to 68 in the seven days up to November 18.

Public health bosses said that seemed to show the rise had been linked to people gathering in the town in the lead up to the national lockdown being introduced.

Wymondham & Attleborough Mercury: Wymondham had seen a surge in coronavirus cases. Photo: Ella WilkinsonWymondham had seen a surge in coronavirus cases. Photo: Ella Wilkinson (Image: Archant)

Diane Steiner, Norfolk’s deputy director of public health, said: “We need to be cautious when looking at these numbers and will see how things go over the next week or so.

“We still need to remain very vigilant to bring the numbers down and stick to the lockdown restrictions.

“It’s more important than ever to keep our distance from others, work from home if possible, wear face coverings as required, stay home if you have symptoms and get a test.

“Rates in Wymondham do appear to be reducing, and we’d like to see them come down even further.

Wymondham & Attleborough Mercury: South Norfolk Council leader John Fuller. Picture: ROSE SAPEYSouth Norfolk Council leader John Fuller. Picture: ROSE SAPEY (Image: © Rose Sapey)

“Many cases in South Norfolk are thought to be linked to social gatherings in the lead up to the national restrictions coming into effect two weeks ago. The people involved were mainly working age adults and it is believed that many cases can be traced back to events that happened in the days before lockdown.”

And John Fuller, leader of South Norfolk Council, said cases in Wymondham needed to come down - or Norfolk could yet find itself in a higher level of restrictions once the national lockdown ends.

He said: “We have been doing direct leafleting, we’ve had street patrols and we’ve been working proactively with Norfolk police.

“We want to encourage people to recognise that we can beat this one family at a time. From the first moment people get symptoms, they have got to isolate. That’s how we will stop this.

“We would hope to see the fruits of that in the next few days, but if not, it could mean that the whole of Norfolk could be in a higher tier than we would want to be.”

The Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital has confirmed another patient with the disease who was being treated there has died. That was a woman in her 70s, with underlying health conditions.